FEMA Employees Fired Over Explicit Online Behavior
Two employees of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) have been dismissed following an internal investigation that revealed they engaged in sexually explicit online conversations, often referred to as “sexting.”
The agency’s review, particularly through its Insider Threat Program (ITP), indicated that one IT Services Department worker accessed FEMA’s Facebook Messenger while holding a top-secret clearance. Records show these conversations involved individuals believed to be from the Philippines. Between August 19 and 27, these employees reportedly exchanged multiple messages, including one that mentioned, “I saw your post on a Filipino dating group here, so I sent a message to you,” and expressed a desire to visit in “November or December.”
Investigators discovered that these communications were not isolated incidents. They identified a continual pattern of explicit online exchanges, with user activity logs showing that on August 25, the employee searched for hotels in Cavite, a city in the Philippines.
On August 28, further exchanges occurred where one employee expressed a wish for their foreign contact to sit on their lap while they were working. Another case involved environmental protection specialists within FEMA’s Alabama office, who were found to have repeatedly accessed pornographic sites and engaged in explicit chats on the agency’s network.
During conversations spanning August 30 and 31, these employees were found to have made numerous sexual comments and even shared pornographic images with users, using handled names like “Toomessyforme” under files titled “Workmemes.”
Ultimately, these two FEMA employees, whose roles included safeguarding against terrorism and nuclear threats, were terminated after the investigation verified their access to sexually explicit materials within the workplace.
Both individuals were operating out of FEMA’s Mount Weather Emergency Operations Center, a fortified facility designed to withstand national emergencies, terrorist, and nuclear attacks. According to officials from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Insider Threat Operations Center was made aware of at least one staff member’s involvement in accessing “deviant porn,” including content deemed inappropriate.
