Attorney General Pam Bondi announced Friday that she terminated a Department of Justice paralegal after multiple incidents of inappropriate conduct toward National Guard service members stationed in Washington, DC.
Bondi stated that she had removed Elizabeth Baxter, a paralegal specialist in the DOJ’s Environment and Natural Resources Division, following an internal investigation into repeated actions directed at National Guard personnel.
According to Bondi, Baxter first admitted on August 18 to a DOJ security guard that she had made an obscene gesture toward a National Guard member at Metro Center station and verbally insulted him. That same day, surveillance footage reportedly showed Baxter making the gesture again outside the DOJ’s “4CON” building and shouting profanities at guardsmen.
A week later, on August 25, Baxter allegedly repeated similar remarks to a DOJ security guard while entering the building. Witness statements and security video were reviewed as part of the investigation.
In a memorandum of removal delivered Friday evening, Bondi wrote that Baxter was “removed from your position of Paralegal Specialist, GS-0950-11, Environmental Defense Section, Environment and Natural Resources Division, and from the federal service, effective immediately,” citing “inappropriate conduct towards National Guard service members.” The letter also noted Baxter’s right to appeal through the Merit Systems Protection Board within 30 days.
Bondi confirmed the firing in a social media post, writing: “Today, I took action to terminate a DOJ employee for inappropriate conduct towards National Guard service members in DC. @TheJusticeDept remains committed to defending President Trump’s agenda and fighting to make America safe again. If you oppose our mission and disrespect law enforcement — you will NO LONGER work at DOJ.”
The dismissal comes shortly after the firing of another DOJ employee, Sean Charles Dunn, who was accused earlier this month of throwing a sandwich at a federal officer and shouting insults at law enforcement in Washington. Dunn, a paralegal in the DOJ’s Criminal Division, has since been charged with misdemeanor assault after a grand jury declined to indict him on felony counts.
Bondi previously described the cases as part of her effort to restore accountability at the Department of Justice. “This is an example of the Deep State we have been up against for seven months as we work to refocus DOJ,” she said after Dunn’s removal.
The dismissals came as President Trump carried out a federal law-and-order initiative in Washington, DC. Earlier this month, Trump invoked section 740 of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act to place the Metropolitan Police Department under direct federal control, and he activated the National Guard.
Since then, Bondi has highlighted over 1,000 arrests and more than 100 illegal firearms seized, noting significant declines in violent crime across Washington. Trump and senior officials, including Bondi, have also made public appearances thanking law enforcement and the Guard for their role in the effort, including hosting a dinner of pizza and hamburgers for them earlier this month.
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