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WASHINGTON: A science advocacy group on Friday lambasted the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for firing five “whistleblowers” who signed a public letter critical of the Trump administration.
“The EPA fired five whistleblowers who signed the EPA Declaration of Dissent, and issued a Notice of Removal for an additional four employees,” according to a statement from Stand Up for Science, a non-profit organization created in response to US President Donald Trump’s cuts to federal research funding and other policies.
The EPA appeared to acknowledge the job losses in a statement on Friday, but did not specify if employees were fired.
“Following a thorough internal investigation, EPA supervisors made decisions on an individualized basis,” an agency spokesperson wrote to AFP, declining to comment on “individual personnel matters.”
Since taking charge of the federal agency tasked with ensuring clean air, land and water, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin has executed Trump’s agenda, including gutting climate regulations, ramping up fossil fuel development and slashing funding for clean energy.
The changes have drawn fierce backlash from scientists and environmental advocates alike.
The EPA suspended more than a hundred employees in July after they signed the scathing open letter accusing Zeldin of pushing policies hazardous to both people and the planet.
The letter – signed by 270 employees with 170 choosing to be named – described a climate of political interference and warned that the agency’s leadership was eroding public health protections and scientific integrity.
On Friday, the EPA noted their “zero-tolerance policy for career officials using their agency position and title to unlawfully undermine, sabotage, and undercut the will of the American public that was clearly expressed at the ballot box last November.”
“The petition – signed by employees using a combination of their titles and offices – contains inaccurate information designed to mislead the public about agency business,” it added.
The Trump administration has similarly clamped down on federal employees who signed letters of dissent at other agencies, including the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

MAKASSAR, Indonesia: At least three people were killed by a fire started by protesters at a council building in eastern Indonesia’s Makassar city, a local official told AFP Saturday, after demonstrations across the country following the death of a motorcycle taxi driver hit by a police vehicle.
The country was rocked by protests across major cities including the capital Jakarta on Friday, after footage spread of a gig motorcycle driver being run over by a police tactical vehicle in earlier rallies over low wages and perceived lavish perks for lawmakers.
Protests in Makassar descended into chaos outside the provincial and local city council buildings, both set on fire and vehicles set ablaze as protesters hurled rocks and Molotov cocktails.
Three people were killed as a result of the fire at the Makassar city council building, its secretary Rahmat Mappatoba said.
“They were trapped in the burning building,” he said, accusing protesters of storming the office to set the building on fire.
“This is beyond our prediction, usually during a demonstration, protesters only threw rocks or burn a tire in front of the office. They never stormed into the building or burned it.”
Two of the victims were staff at the local council and another was a civil servant. Two died at the scene while one died in hospital.
At least four people were injured in the fire and are being treated at hospital, the official said.
The fire has since been extinguished. Images showed the provincial council building ablaze overnight.
Protesters at the South Sulawesi provincial council building tried to knock down the gate and storm in.
In the capital Jakarta, hundreds massed outside the headquarters of the elite Mobile Brigade Corp. (Brimob) paramilitary police unit they blamed for motorcycle gig driver Affan Kuniawan’s death, throwing firecrackers as police responded with tear gas.
A group of protesters tried to tear down the gates of the unit, notorious for its heavy-handed tactics, and pulled a sign from the building’s facade in chaotic scenes.
Police said they had detained seven officers for questioning in connection with the driver’s death.
The protests were the biggest and most violent of Prabowo Subianto’s presidency, a key test less than a year into his rule that forced him to quickly urge calm, order an investigation and visit the family of the slain driver.
He has pledged fast, state-driven growth but he had already faced protests for widespread government budget cuts to fund his populist policies including a billion-dollar free meal program.
Protests also spread to other major cities on Friday in Indonesia, including Yogyakarta, Bandung, Semarang and Surabaya in Java and Medan in North Sumatra province.