FBI agents who study UFOs — officially known as Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAPs) — are worried they might lose their jobs as the Trump administration moves to remove officials involved in earlier investigations against the former president.
According to Politico, some members of the FBI’s UFO investigation team also worked on cases related to the January 6 Capitol riot. These agents were recently asked to fill out questionnaires about their work on that event, which they believe could be used against them.
Former Navy pilot Ryan Graves, now head of the nonprofit Americans for Safe Aerospace, confirmed that there is an informal FBI working group investigating UFOs. He said several agents told him they feared losing their positions or that the project could be disrupted.
Graves explained that his organization helps the FBI by connecting witnesses and sharing intelligence. He is worried that if the current purge continues, the UFO investigation could collapse before it is properly formalized within the government.
In a statement, the FBI did not deny the possible firings but reminded that it investigates Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena when there might be violations of federal law or threats to national security.
Meanwhile, both Democrats and Republicans in Congress have been pushing for more transparency. Last year, lawmakers proposed allowing airline pilots to report UFO sightings directly to federal authorities.
The Pentagon’s latest report, published at the end of 2024, listed hundreds of new unidentified sightings. Most turned out to be balloons, birds, or satellites — but a few remain unexplained, such as a near-collision between a passenger plane and an unknown object off the coast of New York.
