One of the FBI’s most prominent Black female agents has quit the “appalling” organization, warning that fast-track training “inexperienced and improperly trained people” is jeopardizing national security.
Under new Director Kash Patel, the bureau has dismantled its Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) office, eliminated the college-degree requirement for new recruits, and slashed Quantico training from 18 to 8 weeks.
L. Nicole Dunn, who once described joining the FBI after hearing about the lack of Black officers, said she had left the “hostile” agency after an unblemished 16 years’ service.
She said she felt forced out by a “leadership that did not want” her—as a woman of color—any longer.
To mark her exit, Dunn—who has won plaudits and award nominations for her work prosecuting child sex traffickers and international romance scammers—wrote a scathing LinkedIn post about the bureau, and spoke to CNN’s First of All podcast.
The former special agent warned that abolishing DEI was a false flag and said that its decision to hire those who lacked the requisite abilities was a major mistake that could end in disaster.
Dunn said, “As a black female (now former) FBI agent, I find the current state of the agency appalling. The FBI deals with threats on U.S. soil by building solid relationships with foreign partners. Those relationships are being steadily destroyed.
“While agents patrol the streets with tasers, criminals armed with firearms are watching and waiting. Terrorists are quietly waiting.”
While stating that she did not have any “first-hand knowledge of any particular threats to the country.” Dunn went on, “So when the next attack happens, you should wonder what experienced agents will be there to pick up the pieces, because there don’t appear to be many left to prevent it.
“The new leadership is focused on the wrong thing. Stop worrying about race & gender and focus on what really matters.”
Dunn suggested there had become an accepted narrative that “FBI’s standards were being lowered, to the detriment of national security, because of diversity hiring.”
However, she said that the relatively small number of Black female agents serving the domestic intelligence and security service—around 2 percent—and the fewer than 5 percent of Black agents, proved that could not be “remotely true.”
In 2019, Dunn helped honor the 100th anniversary of the first African American special agent.
The highly experienced special agent—who is also a qualified attorney, certified internal auditor, and fraud examiner—said, “Of the approximate 13,000 agents that we once had, only about 270 were black female agents. So suffice it to say, we were not hired because we were minorities, we were hired for our skills.
“So to see the number of minority agents being pushed out, when so few of us existed in the first place, is disheartening and shocking. The public is being led to believe that many of us were hired due to diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.
“A few folks wrote letters to Senators claiming that the FBI’s standards were being lowered, to the detriment of national security, because of diversity hiring.
“Yet, if you look at the numbers, the FBI did not have enough of a percentage of minority agents for that claim to be remotely true.”
Dunn, who is from Texas, said she decided to quit and change careers with four years left until her retirement after being placed on unpaid leave in April, which she felt was a deliberate attempt to force her out due to her skin colour.
When asked by podcast host Victor Blackwell if she believed she had been placed on leave because she was a Black woman, Dunn said, “I do. And I believe that they did it in a very underhanded way. They actually pulled my security clearance and said, well, your job requires you to have national security clearance.”
Now Dunn is calling upon those in power to speak out against the lowering of standards in the FBI.
She said, “That aside, where are those people now that the current administration has decided to ‘fast track’ training to put new agents on the street?
“Where are those same senators that screamed ‘DEI’ was destroying the FBI, now that you have decades worth of experienced (and properly trained) agents pushed out and replaced by inexperienced and improperly trained people—some of whom may only have a GED (General Educational Development) if coming from other government agencies?
“We are in a crisis of our own making and those with the power and/or public platform to stop it, are silent.”
When approached by the Daily Beast for an interview, Dunn declined to add further to her post and podcast appearance.
The FBI and the White House were approached for comment.
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