A former FBI agent says his refusal to follow politically charged directives from the Biden administration cost him his career. Zach Schoffstall, who served as a senior agent in the Salt Lake City Division, described facing backlash for declining to pursue what he saw as unjustified cases of domestic extremism.
The controversy centered on the Patriot Front, a group accused of planning to riot at a Pride event in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, in 2022. Schoffstall contends that the group took measures to prevent violence, suspending members for discussing it. He resisted orders to execute a federal search warrant, citing insufficient evidence, which he said led to accusations of embarrassing the bureau.
After refusing the directive, Schoffstall was transferred to West Virginia and later dismissed in 2024. He alleged that political and personal biases influenced the DOJ and FBI’s actions. The case was reassigned to a Boise-based FBI official with ties to the LGBTQ community, while the local U.S. Attorney’s Office had connections to the event’s organizers.
Schoffstall also noted a pattern of prioritizing appearances over prosecutions. He recounted bringing two hate crime cases involving racially motivated assaults to U.S. Attorney Josh Hurwit, both of which were declined. Instead, Hurwit focused on hosting events under the DOJ’s “United Against Hate” program, launched in 2022.
The Patriot Front case ultimately led to minor penalties for most of those arrested. Schoffstall believes the DOJ’s actions were more about signaling commitment to combating extremism than addressing real threats. “I think the facts would indicate they wanted to make the appearance they were leaning heavily into this,” he said.
His story has raised broader concerns about the politicization of federal law enforcement under the Biden administration, with critics pointing to a focus on ideological enforcement over impartial justice.
