FBI Reportedly Came Close To Arresting Brad Pitt — And ‘Jane Doe’ Sued The Bureau To Find Out Why They Didn’t

FBI agents allegedly came close to arresting actor Brad Pitt following the altercation that reportedly led to his split with ex-wife actress Angelina Jolie — and according to a new report, Jolie might be behind a lawsuit against the Bureau demanding the reasons they didn’t go through with it.

The incident that sparked the near-arrest — and Jolie’s move to file for divorce — was a disagreement aboard the couple’s private plane that reportedly escalated as Pitt was drinking and became “verbally abusive,” at which point their oldest son Maddox reportedly stepped between them to defend Jolie.

Because the plane was in flight at the time — and the air is considered to be federal jurisdiction — the FBI was charged with investigating the claims. Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services also investigated, and shortly after DCFS concluded that the abuse allegations were unsubstantiated, the FBI also announced that Pitt would not be charged pursuant to the incident.

“In response to allegations made following a flight within the special aircraft jurisdiction of the United States which landed in Los Angeles carrying Mr Brad Pitt and his children, the FBI has conducted a review of the circumstances and will not pursue further investigation,” Laura Eimiller, spokeswoman for the FBI’s Los Angeles field office, explained at the time. “No charges have been filed in this matter.”

But in April of 2022, a woman identified only as “Jane Doe” sued the FBI under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), demanding information about what was uncovered during the investigation into the incident that occurred on the plane in 2016 — and rumors immediately began to swirl that “Doe” was actually Jolie.

The court documents described “Doe” as a person who was publicly well known and requested information “about the agency’s investigation of an incident of domestic violence that occurred several years ago involving plaintiff and her minor children as victims and witnesses … Several years ago, while plaintiff, her then-husband, and their children, who were all minors at the time, were traveling via private aircraft, the husband allegedly physically and verbally assaulted plaintiff and the children.”

In the lawsuit, “Doe” also alleged that the FBI closed the investigation without first informing her — and instead making a public statement.

Puck News’ Eriq Gardner reported on Monday that he had confirmed Jolie to be the plaintiff in that suit — and said that updated court filings revealed just how close the FBI had come to arresting Pitt.

“Having followed their bizarre post-divorce legal battle for some time, I can now confirm that Jolie is indeed the plaintiff in the F.B.I. suit. I can also reveal that the pseudonymous lawsuit is available publically for the first time,” Gardner explained. “On Aug. 9, Jolie amended the complaint, which includes an interesting new detail. Before the F.B.I. announced that Pitt would not be charged with assault on an airplane, the agent investigating the Sept. 2016 incident prepared a statement of probable cause and presented it to the chief of the Criminal Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles. (In the amended complaint, Jolie says she learned this from the F.B.I.’s FOIA response last year.)”

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