A dozen former FBI agents this week sued President Donald Trump’s administration in part on First Amendment grounds over their firings for kneeling during protests over George Floyd’s murder in 2020.

The complaint, filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against FBI Director Kash Patel and Attorney General Pam Bondi, references nine unnamed women and three unnamed men as plaintiffs.

It alleges that the agents were fired because the administration "perceived Plaintiffs to be affiliated with, and supportive of, President Trump's partisan opponents and not affiliated with President Trump."

"That is a violation of the First Amendment," it says.

But experts told USA TODAY it's a complex case that may not ultimately hinge on First Amendment claims, considering that the complaint says the agents' actions were not meant as political statements but that they were interpreted as such by the administration.

The White House referred USA TODAY to the FBI for comment. An FBI spokesperson declined to comment on the pending litigation, Reuters reported. The Justice Department didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

Here’s what to know about the case and its First Amendment implications:

What happened? Did the agents kneel in protest?

The agents were on patrol in Washington during the protests when they were “confronted by a mob that included hostile individuals” on June 4, 2020, according to the lawsuit.

It said the crowd was shouting and gesturing toward the agents, who were “literally backed up against a wall of the National Archives.”

Some members of the crowd called for them to “take a knee,” as law enforcement personnel had done in other protests.

Their decision to do so was described as a “tactical decision focused on saving American lives and maintaining order," according to the lawsuit.

How did the FBI respond?

The FBI and Department of Justice reviewed the incident at the time and determined the agents hadn’t violated policy. No disciplinary action was taken.

But under Patel’s leadership five years later, the agents were fired in September.

The lawsuit said a letter signed by Patel and sent to the agents accused them of demonstrating “unprofessional conduct and a lack of impartiality in carrying out duties, leading to the political weaponization of government.”

What does the lawsuit say about the First Amendment?

The lawsuit's opening line asserts that the First Amendment “forbids government officials from dismissing public employees for partisan reasons.”

It goes on to say that law enforcement officers faced particular challenges amid the 2020 demonstrations with protecting protesters’ First Amendment rights while maintaining order and safety.

The administration’s decision to fire the agents “reflects an astounding lack of professionalism and lack of impartiality by the government and violates Plaintiffs’ constitutional rights under the First and Fifth Amendments,” the lawsuit said.

It specifically referenced the Fifth Amendment's due process clause, which states that "no person shall ... be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law."

The lawsuit specifically accused the Trump administration of depriving the fired agents of their liberty and property without due process.

How could the case prove complex?

It’s an “unusual” case that has a lot of nuance, said Ken Paulson, the director of Middle Tennessee State University’s Free Speech Center and a former USA TODAY editor in chief.

Though the lawsuit makes First Amendment claims, it also says the agents “kneeled for apolitical tactical reasons to defuse a volatile situation, not as an expressive political act.”

The Trump administration, the lawsuit alleges, fired the agents “in a partisan effort to retaliate against FBI employees that they perceived to be sympathetic to President Trump’s political opponents.”

That makes it a “much harder case to win,” at least on First Amendment grounds, because it "requires proving what’s inside someone’s head,” according senior attorney Brett Nolan of the Institute for Free Speech.

The government can restrict employees’ speech while performing official duties during work hours without violating the First Amendment. It would be a more clear-cut case if the agents described their actions as political statements or they were dismissed for actions taken on their personal time, the experts said.

But the details of the case at hand make Nolan “a little skeptical that the First Amendment claims here have legs.”

“The bulk of the lawsuit focuses on due process and an alleged failure of the FBI to follow its internal disciplinary rules, which may well determine the outcome,” Paulson said.

Contributing: Natalie Neysa Alund

BrieAnna Frank is a First Amendment reporter at USA TODAY. Reach her at bjfrank@usatoday.com.

USA TODAY's coverage of First Amendment issues is funded through a collaboration between the Freedom Forum and Journalism Funding Partners. Funders do not provide editorial input.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ex-FBI agents just sued Kash Patel. Why their case could prove complex

Reporting by BrieAnna J. Frank, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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