Attorney General Pam Bondi fired a Justice Department employee on Friday accused of flipping off National Guard members deployed to Washington D.C. as part of President Donald Trump’s effort to mitigate crime in the city, a Justice Department official confirmed.
According to a memo sent by Bondi, the veracity of which was confirmed by the DOJ, the employee, Elizabeth Baxter, worked as a paralegal specialist in the department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division.
The New York Post was first to report Baxter’s termination.
“Based on your inappropriate conduct towards National Guard service members, your employment with the Department of Justice is hereby terminated, and you are removed from federal service effective immediately,” Bondi wrote in the memo, as confirmed by the Justice Department.
A Justice Department official told NBC News that Baxter was seen and heard using the vulgar gesture and shouting to Guard members on multiple occasions.
The incidents allegedly occurred several times during the last two weeks, though NBC News has not independently confirmed the accusations.
A spokesperson for the Justice Department, Gates McGavick, lauded the termination on Friday, writing in a post on X, “if you don’t support law enforcement, [Attorney General Pam Bondi’s] DOJ might not be a good fit.”
The termination marks the second time this month Bondi has terminated a Justice Department employee for conduct she’s deemed inappropriate toward law enforcement personnel.
Weeks ago, Bondi fired a department paralegal after he was caught on camera throwing a sandwich at a Customs and Border Protection agent outside of a popular nightlife area in D.C. She wrote at the time, “you will NOT work in this administration while disrespecting our government and law enforcement.”
Bondi initially sought to secure felony charges against that employee, Sean Dunn, but a grand jury declined to return an indictment, a signal that local residents did not identify probable cause to back that charge. U.S. District Attorney Jeanine Pirro instead charged Dunn with misdemeanor assault.
Trump has consistently touted his effort to mitigate crime in D.C., which was already declining, as incredibly successful, pointing to further decreases this month in acts like carjackings. But the effort has faced mounting criticism from Democratic lawmakers and protest from D.C. residents, many of whom have characterized Trump’s operation as overblown, a scare tactic and racially motivated.
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