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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
World
Victoria Bekiempis

Fired DHS worker sues agency after he criticized Noem on alleged fake date

a woman speaks into a microphone
Kristi Noem speaks at DHS headquarters in Washington DC on 15 January 2026. Photograph: Bonnie Cash/UPI/Shutterstock

A former employee of the Department of Homeland Security who was fired after video circulated of him on a date criticizing the agency’s head, Kristi Noem, sued the department on Monday, alleging the termination violated his first amendment rights.

Brandon Wright, who worked at DHS for eight years in IT, said in a federal lawsuit that his time at the agency came to an “abrupt end” because of the “yellow journalism tactics” deployed by an unidentified woman he met on the dating app Bumble.

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