Five FBI employees tied to the bureau’s 2023 “Radical Traditionalist Catholics” memo were fired Friday, according to multiple reports. The four intelligence analysts and one supervisory analyst involved in drafting and approving the document had faced no discipline since the memo became public more than three years ago.
The news was first reported by Daily Wire reporter Mary Margaret Olohan, who said an FBI source confirmed the dismissals.
The Richmond Field Office produced the memo in January 2023. It examined what it described as a possible connection between “Radical Traditionalist Catholic” ideology and racially and ethnically motivated violent extremists, and discussed potential “tripwire and source development” opportunities within Catholic communities.
The document became public after a whistleblower provided it to Congress, triggering immediate backlash from lawmakers, religious liberty advocates, and Catholic organizations. Republicans argued the memo showed the FBI was scrutinizing Americans based on their religious beliefs.
Then-Attorney General Merrick Garland later told lawmakers he was “appalled” by the memo, while Wray repeatedly insisted the memo came from a single field office and was withdrawn once senior leadership saw it.
The FBI’s Rapid Response account posted on social media Friday:
FBI Director Kash Patel replied:
An FBI review cited in a 2023 letter to Congress found that employees involved in drafting, reviewing, and approving the document failed to follow analytical standards and improperly connected religious beliefs to violent extremist ideology without sufficient evidence.
“One of the FBI’s most fundamental principles is that investigative activity may not be based solely on the exercise of rights guaranteed by the First Amendment.”
A 2024 Justice Department inspector general review found the same analytical failures but likewise found no evidence of malicious intent.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) released documents last year showing that Wray’s repeated assurances about a single memo were incomplete.
FBI records he reviewed identified at least 13 additional documents and five attachments using the term “radical traditionalist Catholic” and citing the Southern Poverty Law Center. A second draft on the same topic was prepared for wider distribution, but never formally issued after the original memo became public.
The records also showed the Richmond memo had been distributed to more than 1,000 FBI employees nationwide.
In a letter to Patel, Grassley accused the bureau, under Wray, of failing to fully disclose the scope of its work on traditional Catholics and of withholding key information from congressional investigators.
Their attorney, David Laufman, released a statement Friday:
“This action is manifestly unjust, completely unsupported by the facts, and subverts standard FBI policy and procedure. These individuals deserved far better for the exceptional and faithful public service they rendered to protect our country.”
The FBI declined to comment on the dismissals.
For critics of the Richmond memo, the firings signal that FBI Director Kash Patel considers the episode a serious violation of First Amendment protections, not simply an analytical failure.
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