By Emmanuel Nduka Obisue
The US government has dismissed several employees of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for watching pornography on official devices during work hours.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who announced the decision, described the misconduct as “disgusting”.
“Today, I am announcing that multiple disgraced FEMA employees were fired for using their government devices to consume sexually explicit content while on the job,” Noem said.
According to her, the affected employees had access to sensitive information and were entrusted with protecting Americans from emergencies but chose instead to abuse their positions.
Citing disturbing examples, she said: “In at least one case, the pornography consumed was racially charged and involved bestiality. Another employee typed explicit and sexually charged phrases into a chatbot website from his government devices, simply to have the comments read back to him in an accent”.
She added that one worker accessed graphic photos and videos, while another regularly used a government computer to chat online with individuals sharing explicit content.
The Department of Homeland Security investigation also revealed that nearly half of FEMA staff routinely logged into social media platforms during official hours.
Warning against such abuses, Noem said the DHS will continue monitoring and investigating device misuse across the agency to prevent exposure of classified or sensitive information.
“Under President Trump’s leadership, we are cleaning house at FEMA to make this dysfunctional agency work for the American people the way it was intended,” she said.
“For decades, some of these bureaucrats engaged in every act imaginable instead of safeguarding the American people from natural disasters. That ends now,” she added.
