--- title: "FBI Agents Investigating UFOs Afraid They’re About to Be Fired by Trump" description: "Amid a potential purge, FBI agents who've worked on UFO cases are concerned that they may get caught up in the Donald Trump dragnet." date: "2025-02-04" modified: "2025-02-04" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/fbi-ufo-officials-trump-anxiety" categories: - "Off-World" - "Space" tags: - "donald trump" - "the digest" - "uaps" - "ufos" --- # FBI Agents Investigating UFOs Afraid They’re About to Be Fired by Trump ![Amid a potential purge, FBI agents who've worked on UFO cases are concerned that they may get caught up in the Donald Trump dragnet.]() *\Image: Chip Somodevilla via Getty / Futurism\* ## Scully Duggery Amid a [looming purge of anti-loyalists](), FBI agents who've been investigating mysterious sightings in the sky — wait, did anybody just faintly hear the "X-Files" theme playing? —are concerned that they may get caught up in the Donald Trump dragnet. As [*Politico* reports](), some officials who work with the bureau's secretive "unidentified anomalous phenomena" working group — fed-speak for unidentified flying objects, better known as UFOs — are concerned that having worked on cases related to the Trump-inspired insurrection on January 6, 2021 may lead to their sacking. "I have spoken to several agents from the UAP Working Group who are afraid of losing their role and the investigation getting unintentionally compromised," formal Naval pilot Ryan Graves, a noted [UFO whistleblower](), told *Politico*. It's unclear exactly how many members of the FBI's UAP Working Group, whose existence had not been revealed before *Politico* broke this story, were previously involved with Jan. 6 cases. The tenor of concern from Graves and other officials familiar with the office, however, suggests that there's enough overlap to make a difference. "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," said Graves, who also runs an [advocacy group for military UFO whistleblowers](). ## Fediverse Beyond the authoritarian nightmare of a [seemingly Stalinesque]() expulsion of those [who don't fall in lockstep]() with the White House, the potential gutting of the group could undermine [Trump's own stated goals]() about getting to the bottom of UAP sightings. Former Army special forces and intelligence official Caison Best told *Politico* that he'd worked with the group after he saw something he couldn't explain or identify in Colorado — and that hollowing out the office out would be "obviously detrimental" to the work its members do. "The FBI is one component of the government that is starting to realize what other functions in the government have already known for a long time and have been participating in," Best said, somewhat cryptically. "And if FBI agents are the mechanism to bring that under a legal umbrella, I think they’re doing unbelievably critical work." Graves put a similar sentiment in layman's terms: purging UAP working group members "would undermine the Trump administration’s commitment to take the U out of UAP." **More on the UAPs and Trump**: [*UFO Whistleblower Claims Trump Is Being Lied To About Those Drones in New Jersey*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()