The FBI director, Kash Patel, has come under fire from far-right online communities following his handling of the assassination of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk. At a press conference announcing the arrest of Tyler Robinson, 22, for the killing at a university campus, Patel made a reference to Valhalla, the Norse mythological warrior’s paradise, which was ridiculed given Kirk’s Christian faith.
“I’ll see you in Valhalla,” Patel said emotionally to Kirk, a phrase that sparked mockery on platforms like Telegram and 4chan. One far-right channel sarcastically noted the irony of a Hindu FBI director telling a slain Christian he would meet him in Valhalla. Another channel operated by former members of a neo-Nazi group celebrated the press conference as “amazing”.
Patel also faced criticism for prematurely announcing on X, formerly Twitter, that the FBI had caught the killer, which later proved false. Senator Dick Durbin, a Democrat, labelled the error “amateur hour” and questioned the director’s professionalism. Memes circulated online mocking Patel’s investigative missteps, including a spoof showing him choosing “Shit on the street” over finding the shooter.
Beyond the investigation, Patel has been the target of racist abuse from the same far-right circles, with slurs directed at his Indian Gujarati heritage. Analysts noted that while some far-right channels mock Patel, others are using Kirk’s death to call for retribution against liberals, suggesting a shift towards more extreme rhetoric in the aftermath of the assassination.
