Fired DHS worker sues agency after he criticized Noem on an alleged fake date | Trump administration
Kristi Noem, a former Department of Homeland Security employee who was fired after a video was released criticizing the agency’s head, sued the department on Monday, claiming the termination violated her first amendment rights.
Brandon Wright, who worked in IT at DHS for eight years, said in a federal lawsuit that his time at the agency “ended abruptly” due to “yellow journalism tactics” employed by an unidentified woman he met on the dating app Bumble.
Wright’s lawsuit alleges that he unknowingly recorded Noem discussing it over cocktails. The lawsuit alleges that the woman, identified in court documents as Heidi Doe, “worked for compensation and/or with” conservative provocateur James O’Keefe and his company, O’Keefe Media Group (OMG), and steered the conversation to the topic of politics and Noem.
After the recordings went viral, DHS first placed Wright on administrative leave in January 2025, then fired him about two weeks ago, on January 8 of this year.
Wright claims that by terminating him, DHS violated his first amendment right to free speech, which allows “government employees to speak on matters of public concern and to third parties without fear of retribution or retaliation.”
“Mr. Wright’s private expression of his personal views, especially after business hours, is fully protected speech on a matter of public concern,” the lawsuit filed in federal court in Washington, D.C., states. The court argues that the government “retaliated against Mr. Wright for his ordinary private speech and unlawfully removed him from federal service for merely expressing his Constitutionally protected free speech.”
The lawsuit was filed by high-profile lawyer Mark Zaid, who said the termination was an example of the Trump administration’s effort to quash any dissent.
“The First Amendment allows individuals to hold and express views that may be critical of the U.S. Government, even if that individual is a federal employee,” Zaid said.
DHS, Doe and Noem are named as defendants in this lawsuit. DHS did not respond to a request for comment.
Neither O’Keefe nor OMG were sued. O’Keefe’s attorneys in another civil case did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and O’Keefe himself did not respond to multiple attempts to reach him.
Wright was placed on administrative leave on January 30, 2025. DHS later recommended in the lawsuit that she be removed from office for “conduct unbecoming a federal employee,” citing off-duty statements she made about Noem.
Wright claims that a woman contacted him on Bumble in January 2025. The woman, who identified herself as Heidi, “openly described her political affiliation as a liberal who supports LGBTQ+ rights and feminism and stated that she was looking for both casual dates and a potentially long-term relationship,” the lawsuits say.
According to Wright, they eventually decided to meet for a date. She chose a restaurant but claimed he texted her “at the last minute” and asked if they could go to a different restaurant he was more familiar with.
Wright’s lawsuit alleges that the woman “consistently steered the conversation toward politics” as various topics were discussed. He stated that he thought Noem was “crazy,” and Wright said in the lawsuit: “The defendant was pleased with what he read about Secretary Noem and agreed with her interpretation.”
He said once the appointment was complete, the woman declined Wright’s offer to take her to the subway or home.
Wright said the woman texted after the appointment and suggested they go on another date. Wright “did not feel there was a strong connection and particularly disliked Defendant Doe’s repeated questions and efforts to talk about D.C. politics” and offered to be friends.
Later that month, Wright began receiving “threatening” voicemails from an unknown number, according to the lawsuit. “Each voicemail appeared to be the same person telling him, ‘You’re famous, dude,’ and telling him he would soon lose his job,” the lawsuit states.
“He also received a text message from a number he did not recognize, which included a screenshot of his former home taken from Google Maps, claiming that the home belonged to him, that the sender knew he was a DHS employee, and that there was a reference to a ‘honeypot scheme,’” the complaint states. The statement was included. Wright said he reported this to his supervisor but did not hear back from him before disciplinary action was taken.
A few days later, a video showing Wright speaking to the woman was posted on various social media sites, including YouTube and X, including O’Keefe’s comments.
Wright’s lawsuit states that the 13-minute video “contains several clips that are repeated more than once and out of context” and was recorded without his consent.
The article published alongside the video on OMG’s site claimed that a DHS official was contacted for comment, and the agency responded: “Secretary Noem has not seen the video in its entirety. This type of behavior will not be tolerated. This individual has been placed on leave and is under investigation… The senior official says the official’s termination is imminent.”
When DHS fired Wright earlier this month, the agency cited “unfortunate circumstances in which Mr. Wright’s private, off-duty conversations were secretly recorded,” but concluded that his continued employment “would signal to the workforce that employees were permitted to undermine the Secretary, the Chairman, and the President,” according to the lawsuits. [the deciding official’s] agenda and authority”.
