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By Hannah Parry
Associate News Editor
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A secretive group of FBI agents tasked with investigating UFOs is deeply concerned that they may be next in the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) purge, according to a new report.
Ryan Graves, executive director of Americans for Safe Aerospace and a former Navy pilot, told Politico he had spoken with several agents within the UAP Working Group. Unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) is how the U.S. government refers to UFOs.
Many agents on the UAP Working Group also worked on the investigations into the January 6, Politico reports.
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The FBI declined to comment on the FBI personnel matters, but did confirm that the agency "investigates Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena when there is potential for a violation of federal law—particularly unlawful acts that could adversely affect our national interests—and to gather, share, and analyze intelligence to combat security threats facing the U.S."
Newsweek reached out to the White House for comment via email.
Why It Matters
President Donald Trump's Justice Department has begun removing FBI agents and prosecutors tied to the high-profile investigations into January 6.
Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove issued an order to fire several DOJ prosecutors in Washington, D.C., on Friday, who handled cases of defendants charged in the Capitol Riot.
Reports indicate that the FBI has been ordered to remove agents linked to investigations into January 6 and Trump's attempts to overthrow the election, and him holding classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago residence.
Graves warned that many of the UAP Working Group agents were "afraid of losing their role and the investigation getting unintentionally compromised" due to their ties to the investigation.
What to Know
This is the first time the existence of the informal UAP Working Group, which has more than a dozen employees and a national program manager, has been publicly acknowledged.
Graves said that the group has worked for the past year to interview witnesses and lead investigations to help protect the United States from the threat of UAPs.
He warned that the group could be impacted by "transition changes" and their "incredible work" lost.
UFOs and UAPs became a hot topic late last year, thanks to the flurry of mysterious drone sightings over the East Coast, and the revelations from U.S. Air Force veteran and whistleblower Jake Barber who claims to have come across alien ships while working to rescue crashed vehicles.
A number of House Oversight Subcommittee on National Security hearings in 2023, also heard from military witnesses who testified about inexplicable encounters with UAPs and warned that UFOs pose a serious risk to national security.
Many Trump allies, including his son Don Jr., had promised that full investigations into the phenomena would be a focus of the new administration.
Speaking on his Triggered podcast to UAP expert Ross Coulthart, Don Jr. said the White House was "working on" investigations into UFOs and alien life.
Trump's National Security Adviser Mike Waltz also called for the government to take UAP sightings "incredibly seriously" during an interview with the Florida Voice in 2023.
"It's not our systems. It's either our adversaries have things with capabilities that we aren't aware of or that we can't explain or it's other wordly," he said.
What People Are Saying
Graves, executive director of Americans for Safe Aerospace, said: "This FBI Working Group is uniquely positioned to investigate UAP due to their joint law enforcement and intelligence authorities."
He added he was "deeply worried that agents key to the investigation of UAP could be removed, which would undermine the Trump Administration's commitment to take the U out of UAP."
Ex-Army special forces officer Caison Best, who said he previously spoke to the FBI working group after spotting a UAP, said: "I think they're doing unbelievably critical work."
New Jersey Senator Cory Booker posted on X, about plans to fire FBI agents: "This outrageous action is retaliation, pure and simple. These prosecutors and FBI agents worked to uphold the rule of law and hold accountable people who broke it by interfering with the peaceful transfer of power."
Attorneys representing FBI agents, in a letter to acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove, said: "Respectfully, the Department of Justice must not take any actions that would run counter to established policies, norms and the law."
What Happens Next
Congressional Democrats have pledged to investigate the firings of FBI and other federal law enforcement officials.
The House Judiciary Committee is expected to discuss the matter in upcoming hearings, but with a GOP-led House, they are unlikely to get legislation through.
It remains to be seen whether the UAP Working Group will be affected.
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