GREENWIRE | The Bureau of Land Management has reinstated its former top law enforcement officer, complying with a judge’s May order that determined he should not have been removed from the post more than three years ago.
Kriley’s reinstatement as director of BLM’s Office of Law Enforcement and Security concludes one of the most divisive leadership shake-ups at the bureau in recent years. It also formally ends a legal battle that began when Kriley was escorted by security personnel out of the bureau’s headquarters in October 2021 and forced to surrender his badge and weapon.
Kriley challenged his removal, leading to the ruling in May from Administrative Judge Evan Roth with the Merit Systems Protection Board that he qualified for federal whistleblower protections. Roth found Kriley’s ouster primarily stemmed from alerting senior bureau officials that his immediate supervisor was trying to improperly exert influence over internal investigations.
Kriley — initially hired as OLES director in 2020 during President Donald Trump’s first term — was reinstated Tuesday, according to his attorney, Katherine Atkinson, and two Interior Department officials who were granted anonymity because they are not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.
It’s not clear whether he will be stationed in Grand Junction, Colorado, where BLM was headquartered when he was removed in October 2021, or whether he will be located at the bureau’s current national headquarters in Washington.
Representatives with BLM did not respond to multiple requests for comment and information on Kriley’s reinstatement.
Kriley, who after his removal was transferred to a law enforcement position with the Bureau of Indian Affairs, could not be reached for comment.
Jason O’Neal, who was appointed to replace Kriley as BLM’s OLES director in April 2022, has been reassigned to an unspecified position in Interior’s law enforcement and security office, according to two people familiar with the situation.
Kriley had accused Mike Nedd, a BLM deputy director and his direct supervisor at the time, of trying to improperly exert influence over internal investigations. Kriley alleged that he was removed as OLES director after informing senior officials at the bureau of his concerns.
Roth agreed, writing in his decision that Kriley had “credibly testified” he felt Nedd’s actions were “an impermissible attempt to undermine the OLES’ authority and independence.”
Nedd could not be reached for comment.
Roth noted in his order that Nedd testified at a hearing before the judge that he decided to fire Kriley three days after the law enforcement head submitted a March 12, 2021, memorandum outlining his concerns to Nada Wolff Culver, who at the time was BLM’s deputy director of policy and programs and the bureau’s acting director.
Roth wrote that Nedd was aware Kriley had “communicated negative information” about him to Culver, “which created a motive to retaliate,” the judge wrote.
BLM did not appeal Roth’s ruling, which became final on June 13, starting a 60-day deadline to “cancel” Kriley’s October 2021 removal and “retroactively restore him as Director of the Office of Law Enforcement and Security.”
Within three weeks of Roth’s ruling, Nedd was escorted from Interior headquarters and placed on administrative leave for still-unknown reasons. Nedd’s current status at BLM is unclear.