On Jan. 29, 2025, the independent investigative journalist Ken Klippenstein posted a photo on his X account purportedly showing a leaked Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) memo canceling celebrations and events for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Holocaust Remembrance Day and Juneteenth, among others.
The memo quickly went viral on social media and was reported on by several news outlets. For instance, The Associated Press reported it had obtained a copy of the memo and spoke to an anonymous "U.S. official" to confirm it was real. Snopes readers wrote in asking about the memo, whether it was true and what effects it would have.
Snopes could not independently verify whether the memo was real or any other information about it. We reached out to Klippenstein, the AP reporter who wrote that an anonymous government source said the memo was real, and to the DIA for comment, but had not heard back from any of them at the time of writing.
A post on the r/FedNews subreddit, a forum for employees of the federal government, mentioned pauses on a program named in the memo. It showed at least some evidence that policies similar to those in the memo were being implemented.
According to the photo of the menu shared on social media, it was issued on Jan. 28, and was issued to the "DIA workforce." If the memo is real, that means it would apply specifically to the DIA but not other parts of the Defense Department.
The memo states that "Observances hosted throughout the year by the Command Element, Directorates, and Special Office" would be put on hold until further notice. In more simple terms, the leaders of the DIA would not do anything to observe the following holidays:
- Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday
- Black History Month
- Women's History Month
- Holocaust Day/Days of Remembrance
- Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month
- Pride
- Juneteenth
- Women's Equality Day
- National Hispanic Heritage Month
- National Disability Employment Awareness Month
- National American Indian Heritage Month
Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Juneteenth are federal holidays, meaning that DIA employees have those days off work. An asterisk below the list said that the pause would "not affect the federal holidays," presumably meaning employees would still receive those days off.
It wasn't the only thing the memo eliminated — it also paused "all activities and events related to Agency Special Emphasis Programs," and completely paused "Agency Resource Groups, Affinity Groups, and Employee Networking Groups."
The memo was issued in response to an executive order issued by U.S. President Donald Trump on Jan. 20, 2025, the first day of his second term in office. That executive order, titled "Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing," ordered the federal government to fully eliminate DEI (and accessibility) "mandates, policies, programs, preferences, and activities" within 60 days.