FBI Director Kash Patel has been accused of prioritising social media posts over operational response in the moments after the assassination of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk in Utah, according to a senior FBI executive who spoke to the New York Times.
The executive described Patel as “super emotional” during a conference call, where he reportedly berated the special agent in charge of the Salt Lake City field office before planning a coordinated Twitter strategy with his deputy, Dan Bongino. The exchange was deemed “surreal” by the source, who noted that Patel’s focus on messaging broke with traditional crisis protocols.
During the call, Patel is said to have prematurely announced on X that the FBI had captured the suspect, who was later released. Patel defended the post, stating he was “telling the world what the FBI was doing as we were doing it,” but the senior executive criticised the lack of vetting, saying “the initial information that comes in is always wrong”.
The incident is one of several highlighted by current and former FBI agents illustrating life under Patel since Donald Trump’s return to the White House. The agency has seen sweeping firings of agents perceived as disloyal, including those involved in the Biden-era election interference investigation “Arctic Frost”. Staff have also been subjected to polygraph tests in an effort to curb media leaks.
The FBI dismissed the report as “fake narratives” from anonymous sources, claiming the agency “delivered a historic 2025”. However, critics warn that the public naming of agents by Senator Chuck Grassley’s office exposes them to risks similar to those faced by Department of Homeland Security officials, who have been advised to wear masks to avoid doxxing.
