FBI Director Kash Patel Berated Agents in ‘Profanity-Laced Video Call’ Accusing Them of Withholding Info on Kirk Case: Report

Kash Patel speaks at a news conference, Friday, Sept. 12, 2025, in Orem, Utah, as Utah department of public safety commissioner Beau Mason, left, and Utah Gov. Spencer Cox listen. (AP Photo/Lindsay Wasson)

FBI Director Kash Patel reportedly berated Utah agents and accused them of not giving him “timely” information on the Charlie Kirk case.

On Friday, Patel joined Utah state officials in a press conference announcing the apprehension of the Kirk’s alleged shooter. The individual — identified as 22-year-old Tyler Robinson — confessed to the shooting to his father.

The day before, however, police were still on the hunt for Robinson as a person of interest. Sources described to The New York Times a heated video call in which Patel called the investigation a “Mickey Mouse” operation and criticized agents for waiting “nearly 12 hours” to show him the first photos of the then-unidentified Robinson:

Mr. Patel and his deputy, Dan Bongino, made it clear they were under intense pressure to catch the killer of Mr. Kirk. They expressed themselves with such fierce urgency that, in the view of some participants, it hinted at another motive: to prove they were up to the task.

The director wasted no time before calling out subordinates that he said failed to give him timely information and was incensed that agents in Salt Lake City waited nearly 12 hours to show him a photo of the suspected killer, according to three people familiar on the exchange.

Mr. Patel said he would not tolerate any more “Mickey Mouse operations,” an official on the call recounted. It was one of his few utterances without profanity, the person added.

At Friday’s presser, Patel claimed the apprehension of Robinson “is what happens when you let good cops be cops.”