Pam Bondi fires DOJ paralegal Elizabeth Baxter accused of obscene gestures at National Guard

Attorney General Pam Bondi on Saturday fired a justice department paralegal accused of repeatedly flipping off National Guard members deployed to Washington, DC under President Donald Trump’s crime-control initiative. Elizabeth Baxter, a paralegal in the DOJ’s environment and natural resources division, was removed from federal service “effective immediately,” according to a termination memo Bondi issued and confirmed by the department. “Based on your inappropriate conduct towards National Guard service members, your employment with the Department of Justice is hereby terminated,” Bondi wrote in the memo. A DOJ official told NBC News that Baxter was observed on multiple occasions not only making obscene gestures but also shouting at Guard members over the past two weeks. The New York Post first reported the firing. DOJ spokesperson Gates McGavick defended Bondi’s decision, posting on X that “if you don’t support law enforcement, [Bondi’s] DOJ might not be a good fit.” This is the second such dismissal in less than a month. Earlier, Bondi fired another DOJ paralegal, Sean Dunn, who was caught on camera hurling a sandwich at a Customs and Border Protection officer outside a DC nightclub. Dunn avoided felony charges but still faces misdemeanor assault. Bondi has made it clear she won’t tolerate disrespect toward law enforcement under her watch. “You will NOT work in this administration while disrespecting our government and law enforcement,” she wrote after Dunn’s termination. The dismissals come as Trump hails his National Guard deployment as a success, crediting it with curbing crime in the capital. But critics argue the operation is heavy-handed, politically motivated, and unfairly targets minority communities.