PoliticsWhistleblower Alleges FBI Investigated Anti-ICE Protesters After Donald Trump Demanded Probe Over TikTok Video, Raising Legal Concerns
Trump allegedly saw a TikTok that made him upset.
Oct. 6 2026, Published 1:13 p.m. ET
President Donald Trump made FBI director Kash Patel probe into anti-ICE protestors because he saw a TikTok that made him upset, according to a White House whistleblower.
Former FBI analyst Jill Fields alleged in a whistleblower complaint that the president ordered Patel to investigate southern California ICE protests in early 2025, at the beginning of his second term.
Fields Raises Concerns About First Amendment Violations
The whistleblower alleges that Patel violated First Amendment rights by jumping to satisfy Trump.
According to Fields' complaint, which was reviewed by CNN, Trump saw a TikTok of protestors in Alhambra, Calif., using bullhorns to warn neighbors about the presence of ICE agents. He demanded the FBI investigate the protestors, and a preliminary investigation was opened into the people recorded in the video.
In a letter her lawyers wrote to the U.S. Senate, Fields alleges that one of her analysts “informed her that the squad had been ordered to run pre‑assessment checks on the two to four anti‑ICE and CBP protesters in the video accused of impeding an immigration arrest, even though FBI policy prohibits opening investigations based solely on First Amendment‑protected activity, and the squad did not yet have evidence of a crime.”
She further alleges that Patel was "angry about the incident, and he wanted those protesters investigated and arrested.”
The FBI Allegedly Punished Her for Raising Ethical Concerns
Fields alleges she was punished by superiors for raising concerns.
Fields also pointed to a second incident in which then-Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove demanded a probe into ICE protests outside a California building.
Fields raised her concern that the United States was violating the protesters' First Amendment rights with her superiors, but was shut down, saying they told her the probes had to happen.
She was eventually stripped of her team and resigned from her Los Angeles office.
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DOJ Calls Complaint 'Politically Motivated'
The complaint led Senator Padilla to demand answers from Patel and Todd Blanche.
Her letter spurred Democratic Sen. Alex Padilla of California to write to Patel and Attorney General Todd Blanche about whether other investigations into protestors were currently active and if President Trump had ordered similar investigations.
A Justice Department spokesperson alleged the whistleblower complaint was "politically motivated," saying in a statement that First Amendment rights don't extend to violence. However, the whistleblower complaint specifically focuses on non-violent protests.
“Under President Trump, the Department of Justice will continue to vigorously uphold the First Amendment rights of all Americans and restore the rule of law,” the spokesperson told NBC News. “The DOJ and FBI have a responsibility to investigate any potential violations of federal law, and conspiracies to impede federal law enforcement and assaults on federal officers are against the law.”
Many FBI Agents Have Resigned and Alleged Internal Punishment for Raising Concerns
The FBI has been in internal chaos through Patel's leadership.
The complaint underlines concerns that the Trump DOJ and FBI is more concerned with optics than upholding the rule of law.
Fields alleges that a supervisor told her that the demands from Trump made the FBI take agents off cases related to drug cartels in order to "make a show for the president."
Multiple FBI agents have resigned since Trump took office in 2025, with many alleging they faced internal retribution for raising legal and ethical concerns about orders from top administration officials and for investigating Trump-related crimes.
