DOJ Staffer Canned by Bondi After Alleged Obscene Gesture

A paralegal specialist for the Justice Department has been terminated directly by Attorney General Pam Bondi, after the staffer was accused of giving the finger to a group of National Guard members in DC for the federal government's ostensible crackdown on crime in that city. Per NBC News, Elizabeth Baxter, who worked in the DOJ's Environment and Natural Resources Division, was fired Friday "based on your inappropriate conduct," Bondi wrote in her memo to Baxter, informing the worker she was to be "removed from federal service effective immediately."

A DOJ official tells NBC that Baxter was seen on multiple occasions over the last two weeks flipping the bird at the National Guard and shouting at them, though the outlet notes it hasn't been able to independently confirm that's the case. "Very simple: if you don't support law enforcement, @AGPamBondi's DOJ might not be a good fit," a DOJ spokesperson tweeted. The New York Post, which first reported on the firing, says it has a photo of Baxter from security footage showing off her gesture to a DOJ security guard in the building where she works. Baxter's firing comes after Bondi fired another paralegal earlier this month who was accused of hurling a sandwich at a federal agent in the nation's capital. A grand jury rejected felony charges against that staffer, Sean Dunn, and he was instead hit with misdemeanor assault charges.