FBI Director Kash Patel was reportedly furious when a SWAT team he had tasked with monitoring his girlfriend decided to leave while she was performing the national anthem at the National Rifle Association’s convention.
The 45-year-old head of the FBI had dispatched a SWAT team from the agency’s Atlanta field office to oversee the safety of his 27-year-old girlfriend, Alexis Wilkins, during the NRA’s annual gathering in April, according to The New York Times.
However, upon assessing that the Georgia World Congress Center, where Wilkins was set to perform, was secure and posed no apparent threat to her, the agents opted to leave before the event concluded.
Patel, upon discovering their early departure, reportedly reprimanded the team’s leader for leaving his girlfriend without protection, criticizing the agents’ actions as a ‘failure of the chain of command.’
This was not an isolated incident. Patel had previously used his position to provide his aspiring country singer girlfriend with additional protection, having deployed ‘elite FBI agents’ from the Nashville office’s SWAT team for her safety in her hometown.
Furthermore, officials revealed that agents from the tactical division in Salt Lake City, Utah, were ordered to protect Wilkins at another event in September, despite their recent involvement in intense operations following the nearby assassination of Charlie Kirk.
Her new level of extensive and unusually frequent taxpayer-funded SWAT security is ‘highly unusual,’ current and former FBI officials have argued – noting that typically girlfriends and spouses of officials do not get that level of protection.
‘The assignment of SWAT-qualified agents to guard his girlfriend are indicative of his lack of leadership experience, judgment and humility,’ argued Christopher O’Leary, a former Marine and FBI agent who led a team that conducted ‘high-risk missions.’
FBI Director Kash Patel was reportedly left outraged when a SWAT team he assigned to watch his girlfriend Alexis Wilkins ditched her as she performed the national anthem at a convention for the National Rifle Association
Agents said they determined that the event was secured and Wilkins was not in danger. She is pictured performing at the NRA convention
Some have also argued that Wilkins does not face the threats necessary for this amount of attention, and that the agents assigned to protecting the singer could be kept from responding to more serious potential crimes.
In some instances, the agents received little notice before they were dispatched to protect Wilkins, the Times reports.
Agents who were dispatched to protect the country singer also told the outlet it was unclear whether they would be afforded any protection against civil liability like what other federal agents who might use deadly force as part of their official duties receive.
‘There is no legitimate justification for this. This is a clear abuse of position and misuse of government resources,’ former senior FBI agent Christopher O’Leary told MS Now earlier this month.
‘She is not his spouse, does not live in the same house or even the same city.’
Helen Wray, the wife of ex-FBI Director Christopher Wray, also noted she only received a security detail when she was traveling with her husband.
To justify her boyfriend’s actions, Wilkins has gone public with some of the threats she has received online, sharing screengrabs on X which she said was just ‘a morning in my DMs.’
The comments include an Instagram response writing that ‘you should pray to christ and end your life! You’re better off in his hands than on this earth.’
‘You need to touch a bullet,’ wrote another.
‘Someone needs to kidnap her,’ added one more.
Wilkins, an aspiring country music star, has received SWAT protection in the past
Critics have noted that agents assigned to protecting the singer could be kept from responding to more serious potential crimes. Metro Nashville SWAT officers are pictured here in 2003
Democrat Congressman Eric Swalwell hit out at Patel for what he saw as hypocrisy on the part of the FBI director
Still, Patel is facing backlash from even those within his own party.
Grace Chong, an influencer who works for Trump-ally Steve Bannon asking on X: ‘Is she considered Kash’s spouse? Is that why she’s getting protection because if not, then why are we paying for this?’
Democrat Congressman Eric Swalwell also took to X to share his feelings.
‘I don’t want anything to happen to [Patel] or his girlfriend. Protect her if she’s threatened.
‘It’s just F’d up hat he REFUSES to protect me and my kids from MULTIPLE specific death threats,’ Swalwell continued. ‘Same for other Dem colleagues.’
‘Can only conclude he wants us dead.’
But the bureau has tried to justify its extensive protection for Wilkins, claiming she has faced a slew of death threats since their relationship was made public.
‘Ms. Wilkins is receiving a protective detail because she has faced hundreds of credible death threats related to her relationship with Director Patel, whom she has been dating for three years,’ a spokesperson told the Daily Mail.
‘Out of respect for her safety, we will not be providing additional details.’
When reached for comment, the White House stood behind Patel without making any reference to Wilkins.
‘FBI Director Patel is restoring integrity to the FBI and doing an excellent job implementing the President’s agenda,’ Abigail Jackson told the Daily Mail.
When reached for comment, the White House stood behind Patel without making any reference to Wilkins
Wilkins has gone public with some of the abuse she’s taken from certain corners of the internet
Meanwhile, Patel is also facing backlash for using his government jet to watch Wilkins perform.
It has since been revealed the FBI director also used the government plane to attend a golf outing in Scotland, in which FBI agents coordinated his transportation and security arrangements with Scottish and British authorities.
That included deploying an advance team and round the clock security personnel known as ‘ravens’ to guard his plane.
But Patel’s spokesperson, Ben Williamson, defended him, saying the dozens of trips Patel has made since he took office in February pale in comparison to the money spent by former FBI chiefs James Comey and Christopher Wray. He also claimed Patel pays a reimbursement in advance.
‘He’s allowed to take personal time on occasion to see family, friends or his longtime girlfriend. He doesn’t do it often,’ Williamson said.
But when then-Director Wray used the bureau’s jet for personal travel, Patel was one of his strongest critics.
In a 2023 interview, Patel even chided Wray by name, saying he did not need a ‘government-funded G5 to go on vacation.’
He then suggested ‘we ground that plane’ or charge ‘$15,000 each time it takes off.’
