A whistleblower has come ahead to allege that the FBI investigated peaceable anti-ICE and border patrol protesters after they were ordered to do so by Donald Trump.

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In a letter to FBI Director Kash Patel and Attorney General Todd Blanche, Sen. Alex Padilla wrote:

On October 5, 2026, my workplace acquired the connected protected whistleblower disclosure (the Disclosure) through the Government Accountability Project that reveals critical allegations of unconstitutional investigations by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) concentrating on protestors’ First Amendment exercise.

According to the connected Disclosure, the White House, former and present DOJ management, and FBI management directed the Los Angeles FBI Field Office to open two completely different investigations in 2025 primarily based solely on people’ participation in First Amendment exercise—in violation of company coverage and constitutional protections. These investigations were opened following elevated protests against aggressive immigration enforcement actions by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in the Los Angeles space in early 2025. The Disclosure also alleges that the investigations pulled FBI staff and sources away from energetic circumstances involving drug trafficking, violent crime, and transnational felony organizations. Although the whistleblower and others at the Los Angeles Field Office raised issues that these investigations unlawfully focused people for exercising their First Amendment rights, the investigations proceeded nevertheless.

The whistleblower alleges that Trump ordered an FBI investigation into the protesters after watching a TikTook video.