FBI agents investigating “unidentified anomalous phenomena” (UAPs), the government’s term for UFOs, are reportedly concerned they could lose their jobs in a possible FBI purge, according to Politico.
Some agents within the UAP working group were also handled the 6 January Capitol attack investigations, which puts them at risk amid a broader review of the bureau’s staff.
All FBI agents have been ordered to complete a questionnaire about their involvement in the Capitol attack investigation, raising fears of a Trump-ordered purge. Ryan Graves, executive director of Americans for Safe Aerospace and a former Navy pilot, expressed concern that the FBI’s UAP efforts could be disrupted by leadership changes, potentially undermining the group’s critical work.
I have spoken to several agents from the UAP Working Group who are afraid of losing their role and the investigation getting unintentionally compromised. I am concerned that the FBI’s UAP Working Group could be affected by transition changes, and these leaders might not be aware of the incredible work these agents are doing and how their investigation could be empowered as part of a formalized intergovernmental effort.
The existence of the FBI’s informal UAP working group has not been publicly disclosed until now. Graves and three other sources revealed that the group included a national programme manager and more than a dozen employees across the country who dedicated significant time to tracking UAPs.
The FBI declined to comment on personnel matters but issued a written response.
The FBI investigates Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena when there is potential for a violation of federal law—particularly unlawful acts that could adversely affect our national interests—and to gather, share, and analyse intelligence to combat security threats facing the U.S.
The Pentagon previously ran a similar initiative, the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Programme (AATIP), whose disclosure in 2017 sparked widespread interest and concern. Since then, there has been bipartisan support in Congress for more aggressive government investigation of UAPs, led in part by then-Senator Marco Rubio, now US Secretary of State.
However, Caison Best, a former Army special forces intelligence officer who witnessed a UAP in Colorado, warned that losing key FBI agents would be “obviously detrimental” to the UAP investigation.
The FBI is one component of the government that is starting to realise what other functions in the government have already known for a long time. If FBI agents are the mechanism to bring that under a legal umbrella, I think they’re doing unbelievably critical work.
As concerns over UAPs grow, the potential loss of experienced agents could hinder efforts to understand and address these mysterious phenomena, leaving critical questions unanswered.
