Kash Patel Admits Charlie Kirk ‘Subject in Custody’ Tweet Could Have Been ‘Worded’ a ‘Little Better’

FBI director Kash Patel admitted that a tweet sent hours after the assassination of Charlie Kirk on Wednesday, stating that the “subject” of the shooting which “took the life” of the conservative activist was “in custody,” could have “been worded a little better.”

Patel’s tweets and actions during the operation reportedly “gave pause” to some in law enforcement as the investigation into the shooting unfolded, according to NBC News.

Central to that was a tweet, which the director sent at 6:21 p.m. on Sept. 10, that claimed “the subject for the horrific shooting today that took the life of Charlie Kirk is now in custody.”

Around 90 minutes later, at 7:59 p.m., Patel issued a follow-up, saying the “subject in custody has been released after an interrogation by law enforcement.”

Appearing on Fox & Friends on Monday, Patel was asked about the incident by co-host Brian Kilmeade and about the criticism he had received for the post.

Patel defended his post, claiming he’d written that the FBI had “a subject” in custody, explaining that the agency’s role is also to “eliminate subjects who are not involved.”

He admitted that he could “have worded it a little better in the heat of the moment,” but championed the bureau’s transparency under his leadership:

I appreciate this opportunity. Look, as I stated, I was being transparent with working with the public on our findings as I had them. I stated in that message that we had a ‘subject.’ And that we were going to interview him. And we did and he was released.

The job of the FBI is not just to manhunt the actual suspect who did the killing or suspects but it’s also to eliminate targets and eliminate subjects who are not involved in the process. That’s what we were doing.

Could I have worded it a little better in the heat of the moment, sure. But do I regret putting it out? Absolutely not.

I was telling the world what the FBI was doing as we were doing and I am continuing to do that, and I challenge anyone out there to find a director who has been more transparent and more willing to work the media on high profile cases, or any case that the FBI is handling, than we have been.

Watch above via Fox News.