Attorney General Pam Bondi has fired a Department of Justice paralegal who she says admitted to flipping off a National Guard member while commuting to work earlier this month.
The employee, Elizabeth Baxter, allegedly told a DOJ building security guard that she made the gesture at a soldier stationed in Washington, D.C., on President Donald Trump’s orders after he declared a crime emergency in the capital. Baxter also reportedly said, “F–k the National Guard.”
A security camera photo obtained by the New York Post showed Baxter re-enacting the gesture for the guard. Bondi announced the termination on Friday on X, writing: “Today, I took action to terminate a DOJ employee for inappropriate conduct towards National Guard service members in DC. If you oppose our mission and disrespect law enforcement, you will NO LONGER work at DOJ.”
Baxter worked in the Environmental Defense Section of the DOJ’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. Her firing follows another case from the same office: paralegal Sean Charles Dunn was dismissed—and briefly faced felony charges—after throwing a Subway sandwich at federal officers.
Bondi, 59, has already been the subject of political tension within the MAGA movement this year. Critics accused her of walking back earlier promises about Jeffrey Epstein’s death and his connections to powerful figures. In February, she claimed a client list tied to Epstein was on her desk. But by summer, she said no such list existed.
Meanwhile, the FBI, under Trump-appointed leadership, confirmed that evidence supported Epstein’s death as a suicide. That conclusion clashed with the MAGA base’s long-standing belief that Epstein was murdered.
Trump, who was once photographed frequently with Epstein, urged his supporters to move on from the scandal. Still, Bondi’s shifting statements fueled division inside MAGA circles. Many accused both her and Trump of creating distractions instead of providing answers.
The controversy has not subsided. Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel are expected to testify before Congress this fall about Epstein and the federal probe into his alleged sex crimes.
For now, Bondi is standing firm on her decision regarding Baxter, framing it as part of a broader commitment to law enforcement. The firing comes at a moment when Bondi herself is under heavy scrutiny, caught between defending DOJ conduct and navigating a fractured political base.