Kash Patel Defends Trip After Locker-Room Footage Sparks Criticism
FBI Director kash patel said he was "extremely humbled" after joining the U. S. men's hockey team in a Milan locker-room celebration following their victory over Canada, a moment that has prompted public criticism. The timing matters because the visit coincided with several high-profile FBI responsibilities and fresh questions about his use of agency aircraft.
FBI Director Kash Patel at Milan locker-room celebration
Footage circulating online showed the FBI chief drinking a beer and cheering with players in a locker room on Sunday after Team USA defeated Canada in Milan, an outcome the director described as a historic moment for the men's team and the country. In a post on X, Patel told "very concerned media" he was "extremely humbled" to be with the men's team and shared a social-media message on Sunday that began: "Yes, I love America and was extremely humbled when my friends, the newly minted Gold Medal winners on Team USA, invited me into the locker room to celebrate this historic moment with the boys- Greatest country on earth and greatest sport on earth. "
Mar-a-Lago investigation and Secret Service shooting
Shortly before the celebration, kash patel posted on X that the FBI was "dedicating all necessary resources" to investigate how an armed man tried to enter President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. Secret Service agents fatally shot the alleged intruder, and Patel's public statement about dedicating resources preceded his appearance in the locker-room footage.
Flight records and FBI explanation
Public flight data showed Patel took a government plane last Thursday from Joint Base Andrews near Washington DC to a U. S. Air Force base in Italy. The FBI last week denied Patel was on a personal trip, saying the visit had been planned months ago and noting that the agency had a major role in Olympic security. The FBI said Patel was meeting Italian law enforcement officials and the U. S. ambassador to Italy while in the country.
Political reactions and scrutiny over jet use
Political figures and former officials reacted sharply. Congressman Jason Crow, a Colorado Democrat, characterized the Olympic trip as "grift and corruption. " Xochitl Hinojosa, a former Justice Department spokeswoman under President Biden, wrote that "our FBI Director thinks he's a frat bro. " Patel has previously faced scrutiny for his use of FBI jets: last November he reportedly used an FBI plane to fly to Pennsylvania to see his country music star girlfriend Alexis Wilkins perform. Congressional Democrats said in December they were investigating reports that Patel flew on an FBI jet to a hunting resort in Texas and on a golfing trip in Scotland. Patel himself once criticized his predecessor, Christopher Wray, for using the agency's jet for personal travel.
Other FBI responsibilities during the trip
The director's visit overlapped with other urgent matters for the Justice Department, under which the FBI operates. The U. S. Department of State issued a shelter-in-place warning on Sunday for American citizens in parts of Mexico after unrest that followed local authorities killing a drug cartel leader. Separately, the FBI is assisting in the search for Nancy Guthrie, the mother of NBC anchor Savannah Guthrie, who has been missing for more than three weeks.
What makes this notable is the concurrence of visible celebration with ongoing security and investigative duties: footage of a dancing, beer-drinking appearance in a championship locker room came while the FBI publicly described major domestic assignments and while questions about travel on government aircraft were under active review. The footage prompted the director to answer critics directly on social media, and the travel records and prior inquiries into his use of agency planes have become central to the debate over the propriety of his trip.
Patel's explanation that the trip was planned months earlier and tied to Olympic security has been presented alongside the agency's statements about his meetings in Italy. The sequence of events—public posts on X about the Mar-a-Lago probe, the locker-room celebration on Sunday, and travel logged last Thursday—frames why the visit has drawn scrutiny and prompted political reaction at home.
