The FBI has fired a supervisory agent after he refused to arrange a “perp walk” for disgraced former FBI Director James Comey, who was indicted last month on charges of lying to Congress and obstruction of justice.
Comey was charged September 25 with making false statements and obstructing a congressional investigation into the FBI’s infamous “Crossfire Hurricane” probe.
That investigation led to the false “Russian collusion” hoax against President Donald Trump.
The indictment stems from Comey’s 2020 testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Prosecutors say he knowingly gave false statements and blocked inquiries into leaks of sensitive information.
Comey has been summoned to appear in federal court in Northern Virginia on Oct. 9.
His legal team has told prosecutors that he will appear voluntarily. But inside the FBI, senior officials were reportedly planning something far different.
According to CBS News, bureau leadership discussed the possibility of dramatically arresting Comey rather than letting him surrender himself, as reported by Trending Politics.
The discussions allegedly included outfitting agents in kevlar vests and FBI jackets, bringing him in under full public spectacle.
One agent, Chris Ray, was ordered to assemble the team. Ray, a supervisory special agent in the violent crimes division of the Washington Field Office, refused.
He reportedly told colleagues it would be “inappropriate and highly unusual” to treat a white-collar defendant like Comey as though he were a dangerous fugitive.
For refusing the order, Ray was suspended for insubordination.
The revelation sparked immediate backlash, given how the bureau has treated Trump allies and Jan. 6 defendants.
Hundreds of non-violent defendants, as well as senior Trump advisors like Roger Stone and Peter Navarro, were subjected to predawn raids by heavily armed FBI teams.
Critics say the double standard could not be clearer. While Comey — the man who oversaw the Trump-Russia hoax — gets the possibility of self-surrender, ordinary Americans charged with far less have faced battering rams and flashbangs at dawn.
CBS News reported that FBI leadership is still pressing forward with plans to stage Comey’s arrest before his scheduled arraignment.
Other supervisors have also refused to take part, but the bureau is expected to find agents willing to carry out the task.
The push for a perp walk is seen as an effort to manage public optics.
FBI leadership is reportedly worried that allowing Comey to quietly stroll into court would send the wrong message, especially after years of high-profile raids against Trump supporters.
It remains unclear whether more agents will face punishment for resisting the order. Sources say Comey’s arrest could still be executed in “full kit” with tactical teams deployed — despite his charges being entirely white-collar in nature.
The case against Comey represents one of the most high-profile indictments of a former FBI director in American history. His arraignment Thursday could set the stage for a trial that exposes even more of the bureau’s misconduct during the Trump years.
For now, the scandal inside the FBI is deepening. An agent has already been fired for refusing to go along.
Others may be next. And Comey — the man who tried to bring down a president — may soon be paraded in front of the cameras like the criminals his FBI once targeted.
