FBI Director Kash Patel is facing MAGA’s wrath as the search for the shooter who assassinated conservative activist Charlie Kirk enters its second day.
Two people were taken into custody but later released on Wednesday, after Kirk was fatally shot in the neck during a campus event at Utah Valley University. Patel posted on social media that the shooter was in custody, only to walk the statement back about 90 minutes later.
“The subject in custody has been released after an interrogation by law enforcement. Our investigation continues and we will continue to release information in interest of transparency,” he wrote in a social media post.
The subject in custody has been released after an interrogation by law enforcement. Our investigation continues and we will continue to release information in interest of transparency https://t.co/YXsG6YpFR5
— FBI Director Kash Patel (@FBIDirectorKash) September 10, 2025
Fox News host Laura Ingraham reacted to the news in a post on X, writing, “Suspect still on loose. Unreal. Get him.”
A leader of the Proud Boys responded directly to Patel’s post saying the about-face was proof that Patel was a “horrible” pick to lead the FBI.
“Why is the head of the @FBI speculating like everyone not in the know?@FBIDirectorKash you’re the person we are supposed to get the final truth from. Stop all this click bait shit you keep doing,” wrote Joe Biggs, who was serving 17 years in prison for his role in orchestrating the deadly Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, when Trump commuted his sentence in January.
“It’s unbecoming of the office in which you represent and only proves you were a horrible pick for this position,” Biggs added.
Others wrote that Patel was “embarrassing” and “incompetent,” and warned the director to tread carefully because he still hadn’t “recovered” from the Jeffrey Epstein scandal.
“You have released more Charlie Kirk suspects than Epstein files. What is taking you so long?” asked Patrick Howley, a MAGA deep-state conspiracy theorist with more than 80,000 followers.
Patel’s FBI has forced out experienced field leaders and fired agents who investigated President Donald Trump, including agency veterans who investigated the Capitol riot.
Last month, the special agent in charge in Salt Lake City—which covers Utah, Idaho, and Montana—was swept up in the purge, MSNBC reported.
Former colleagues of the agent in question, Mehtab Syed, said she was a “legendary case agent who was involved in some of the most significant national security cases of the last two decades.”
On Wednesday, three other high-ranking officials who were fired in August filed a lawsuit accusing the FBI’s leadership of firing them for not being sufficiently loyal to Trump.
In the complaint, the former officials accused Patel and Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino of being highly susceptible to social media pressure.
One agent in particular was “concerned that the emphasis Bongino placed on creating content for his social media pages could risk outweighing more deliberate analyses of investigations.”
Late Wednesday and early Thursday, some social media users expressed anger not that the manhunt for Kirk’s killer was ongoing but that Patel had prematurely announced an arrest in the case.
“During something like this I imagine it’s normal to do precautionary arrests on several suspects. How about you don’t f—ing announce it until you’re f—ing sure,” a pro-MAGA account called R—-d Finder, which has more than 795,000 followers, wrote in response to Patel’s post, garnering 19,000 “likes.”
“You’ve got to be f—ing kidding me,” replied a MAGA user with more than 233,000 followers.
“Get your f—ing s–t together!” wrote another.
The Daily Beast has reached out to the FBI for comment.
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