FBI Director Kash Patel reportedly criticized subordinates in a tense Thursday morning meeting over their handling of the investigation into Charlie Kirk’s killer.
More than 200 agents joined the online call, which was first reported by The New York Times. An official attending the meeting told the Times that Patel criticized the agency’s “Mickey Mouse operations,” saying it was one of the few times in the call that he wasn’t cursing.
During the call, Patel and FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino emphasized the need to catch Kirk’s killer. Patel also criticized Salt Lake City agents for not providing him with a photo of the suspected killer until 12 hours later, the Times reported.
Both Patel and Bongino flew to Utah on Thursday to personally oversee the investigation.
The FBI arrested Tyler Robinson, 22, the suspect in Kirk’s shooting, on Friday. According to Utah Gov. Spencer Cox (R), Robinson was apprehended after a family friend reached out to the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, stating Robinson “confessed to” his family “or implied that he had committed the incident.”
Kirk was shot Wednesday at an event at Utah Valley University. Patel said in a Wednesday evening post on social platform X that the FBI had taken a “subject for the horrific shooting” into custody, only to later announce the subject had been released after being interrogated by law enforcement.
The Wednesday blunder has cost Patel. Several MAGA allies criticized the director over his leadership, casting doubt on whether he was the right person to head the FBI.
“He performed terribly in the last few days, and it’s not clear whether he has the operational expertise to investigate, infiltrate, and disrupt the violent movements—of whatever ideology—that threaten the peace in the United States,” conservative activist Chris Rufo wrote on X.
Patel joined the FBI after a career as a federal prosecutor and Defense Department chief of staff. His lack of law enforcement experience led to some former GOP officials’ reservations against him stepping into the position.
Steve Bannon, a former Trump administration adviser, said he didn’t see the shooter’s apprehension as “great law enforcement work” speaking on his “Bannon’s War Room” show directly after the conference.
“I don’t know why Kash flew out there, you know, thousands of miles, to give us, ‘Hey, working partnerships and our great partnership in Utah’ — OK, got that,” Bannon said.
