A whistleblower from the Biden administration's Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms said he faced threats of "sustained retaliation" from colleagues in the agency after he revealed a scheme to fraudulently classify administrative positions as law enforcement ones, which made them eligible for higher pay and more benefits. 

Afolabi Siwajuola disclosed the information to Sen. Chuck Grassley's (R-IA) office in 2021, but said the atmosphere once the allegations broke was akin to his time in combat in Iraq.

Siwajuola's disclosures were investigated and substantiated by the Office of Special Counsel (OSC), Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and ATF’s internal affairs division.

The OPM estimated that the scheme cost the federal government at least $20 million over a five-year period.

Direct threats

According to a letter from Grassley to ATF Acting Director Daniel Driscoll and Attorney General Pam Bondi on Monday, Siwajuola was subjected to threats of physical harm from ATF officials after the scandal broke.

“The ATF witness was told by an ATF special agent that Mr. Siwajuola had ‘a mark on his back,’” the letter read.

Siwajuola was also promoted retroactively, but "in name only," and was assigned to report to one of the ATF officials he had accused of participating in the fraudulent misclassification scheme.

In 2023, Siwajuola was subjected to a “baseless and biased retaliatory” internal affairs investigation.

He was then demoted and ordered to perform menial tasks for the Bureau.

He received negative performance reviews and yet another internal affairs investigation into him was opened.

Accountability

Grassley demanded that all who threatened and mistreated Siwajuola or directed others to do so be held accountable for their actions.

“Mr. Siwajuola told my office that as a U.S. Army veteran, his experience working at the ATF after becoming a whistleblower during the Biden administration is on the same level, and some days worse than his experience serving in Baghdad, Iraq,” the senator wrote.

“Mr. Siwajuola told my staff that when serving in Iraq he could trust that his Army squadmates and leadership would have his back, but Biden ATF leadership had instead ‘put a target’ on his,” the Iowa Republican added.

Despite this, Siwajuola refused to quit the bureau because he didn't want to abandon his team and wanted to make sure laws were followed at the agency.