‘If You Challenge The FBI, They Will Crush You,’ Says Whistleblower
Being an FBI agent was Stephen Friend’s dream job. For eight and a half years working there, the Notre Dame graduate and Iraq War veteran investigated around 200 violent crimes, including human and sex-trafficking cases, and served five years as part of an FBI SWAT team.
Friend did his job so well that he won an FBI performance award.
Then one day this past fall, his top-secret security clearance was revoked by his superiors at the Jacksonville, Florida, field office, and he lost his job.
The reason was that he had expressed concern about a) the inflation of statistics regarding Domestic Violent Extremism (DVE) cases; b) assignments to surveil parents at school board meetings and log their license plate numbers in violation of the parents’ constitutional rights; and c) the FBI’s decision to use a SWAT team in the arrest of an alleged January 6 rioter who had expressed willingness to cooperate with the FBI.