Des Moines Sun

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) has called on the Department of Justice and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to end alleged retaliation against whistleblower Afolabi Siwajuola. Siwajuola, a U.S. Army veteran, reported the ATF for what he described as illegal misclassification of positions and improper hiring practices during the Biden administration.

In a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi and ATF Acting Director Daniel Driscoll, Grassley stated: “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. 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.”

Siwajuola claims he faced five years of retaliation after reporting issues such as classifying human resources roles as law enforcement positions and lowering hiring standards for special agent applicants to meet recruitment goals. He also reported pressure on employees to approve unqualified candidates with personal connections at the agency.

Despite these experiences, Siwajuola received recognition from the U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC), which gave him its 2023 Public Servant Award for exposing “ATF’s longstanding (and illegal) practice of deliberately misclassifying upper-level law enforcement positions.” In August 2025, OSC recommended that ATF provide him with a monetary award for his disclosures.

Grassley urged federal authorities to halt all retaliation against Siwajuola, investigate his allegations thoroughly, hold responsible officials accountable, and follow OSC's recommendation regarding compensation.

According to Siwajuola’s account provided to Grassley's office, former ATF Director Steven Dettelbach and former Deputy Director Marvin Richardson led efforts within ATF to damage his career in response to his legally protected disclosures. The alleged retaliation included ostracism, intimidation tactics such as negative performance reviews and demeaning comments, retaliatory investigations and demotions.

Siwajuola was also required by the administration to report directly to Ralph Bittelari—one of those he had accused in connection with the misclassification scheme—as part of what he describes as ongoing retaliation.

In June 2022, following threats made against Siwajuola after his disclosures became known within ATF circles, the FBI investigated reports including statements from an ATF witness who said an agent remarked that Siwajuola had “a mark on his back.” The same witness expressed fear about losing their job if they spoke openly about internal matters with congressional staffers. While the FBI referred these threats for further investigation by ATF’s Internal Affairs Division (IAD), Siwajuola alleges there was no follow-up contact from IAD.

Siwajuola further informed Grassley’s staff that Lakisha Gregory—the current Deputy Assistant Director for Human Resources—has continued retaliatory actions against him. He says IAD recently opened another investigation into him after he refused to appoint an allegedly unqualified candidate linked personally to Gregory into a senior HR role.