DHS employee finds out his Bumble date was a devastating ‘honeypot scheme’, now he’s suing the department that fired him

A former employee of the Department of Homeland Security who was fired after a Bumble date allegedly turned into a political “honeypot scheme” is now suing the department, as reported by The Guardian. He claims his termination violated his First Amendment rights.

Brandon Wright, who worked in IT at DHS for eight years, is claiming in a federal lawsuit that his career came to an “abrupt end” due to the “yellow journalism tactics” used by a woman he met on the popular dating app. Wright’s legal team filed the suit in Washington DC, arguing that the government unlawfully removed him from federal service solely because he expressed his constitutionally protected freedom of speech.

When DHS ultimately fired Wright earlier this month, the agency specifically mentioned the “‘unfortunate circumstances’ in which Mr Wright’s private, off-duty remarks were secretly recorded.” Crucially, the department concluded that his continued employment would “signal to the workforce that it is permissible for employees to undermine the Secretary, the President’s and [the deciding official’s] agenda and authority.”

It’s clear DHS didn’t like what Wright was saying about the agency’s head, Kristi Noem

Wright was originally placed on administrative leave on January last year, and later received a proposal for removal citing “conduct unbecoming of a federal employee” because of his off-duty remarks. Wright alleges that a woman who identified herself as “Heidi” contacted him on Bumble soon after he was put on leave.

She openly identified as a liberal supporting LGBTQ+ rights and feminism, claiming she was seeking either casual dates or a long-term relationship. They agreed to meet, but Wright claims that at the last minute, she messaged him to switch their location to a different eatery she knew better.

During the date, Wright’s suit alleges that the woman, referred to as Heidi Doe in court papers, “continually steered the conversation to politics.” She remarked that she thought Noem was “crazy.” Wright said in the suit that he agreed with her interpretation, which honestly makes sense given how she’s handling ICE. The lawsuit claims that Doe was “working for compensation and/or in conjunction” with conservative provocateur James O’Keefe and his company, O’Keefe Media Group.

Later, Wright started receiving “threatening” voicemails from an unknown number. The messages repeatedly told him, “You’re famous, buddy,” and warned that he would soon lose his job. Even worse, he received an anonymous text message that included a screenshot from Google Maps of his old home. The sender claimed to know he was a DHS employee and explicitly referenced a “honeypot scheme.” Wright reported these threats to his supervisor, but he never heard back before the disciplinary action began.

Several days later, the video of Wright talking to Doe was posted online, interspersed with commentary from O’Keefe. Wright’s suit claims the 13-minute video “presents several clips that are repeated more than once and out of context” and was recorded without his consent.

Wright’s lawsuit is being handled by high-profile attorney Mark Zaid, who argues that the termination is a dangerous example of the current administration’s push to extinguish any type of dissent. The suit stresses that Wright’s intended private expression during non-duty hours constitutes “quintessential protected speech on a matter of public concern.”