A whistleblower claims FBI Director Kash Patel’s use of a jet delayed law enforcement’s response to the Brown University mass shooting late last year.
Agents from the FBI’s Evidence Response Team failed to arrive at Brown University in time after a mass shooting in December that left two people dead and nine injured because Patel’s plane was reportedly in Florida.
A whistleblower reported the situation to Sen. Richard Durbin, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee. He sent letters to the Government Accountability Office and the Justice Department’s Office of the Inspector General on Tuesday accusing Patel of misusing resources and hindering the agency’s ability to conduct critical investigative missions, MS NOW reported.
According to sources who spoke to the broadcaster, Patel was reportedly in South Florida at the time, owned a plane and had reserved a second plane for another FBI team that does not typically respond to mass shooting scenes. Sources said Patel was in Florida on the day of the shooting and did not fly back until the next day.
In response to MSNOW, an FBI spokesperson disputed the claims but said they would investigate the situation to determine what exactly happened. Another FBI official reportedly told MSNOW that Patel was visiting his elderly parents in Florida.
FBI Director Kash Patel’s use of FBI jets prevented evidence-gathering teams from reaching the scene of December’s Brown University mass shooting, a whistleblower said (Reuters)
Durbin claimed in the letter that Patel’s “misprioritization and mismanagement of FBI resources, including aircraft, also compromised the FBI’s ability to respond to the Brown University shooting on December 13, 2025.”
According to the whistleblower, Patel allegedly retained a second plane for the FBI hostage rescue team, confusing FBI officials because many SWAT team and FBI field office officers were already on scene and equipped to respond to a hostage situation.
The FBI’s Evidence Response Team is responsible for gathering evidence and information from crime scenes. While there are evidence collection staff in the field offices, the Quantico-based evidence team is comprised of some of the agency’s most skilled and experienced members. The team is typically the one that responds to mass shootings.
Durbin is now calling for an investigation and accusing Patel of taking a “joyride” on the agency’s plane.
“Since being confirmed as FBI Director, Kash Patel appears to have engaged in irresponsible joyrides on aircraft operated by the Department of Justice and the FBI, to the detriment of the American taxpayer and to the bureau’s ongoing operations,” he wrote in a letter to the GAO.
Patel has faced near-constant criticism for his use of the agency’s aircraft. He’s used it for a golf outing in Scotland, a wrestling tournament in Pennsylvania, a performance by his girlfriend, country singer Ashley Wilkins, and most recently, a flight to Milan to watch the U.S. men’s Olympic hockey team play.
The same day that Patel was in Italy for a hockey game, a man arrived at Mar-a-Lago with a shotgun and a gasoline can. He was shot dead on the spot by law enforcement officers. Meanwhile, the investigation into the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie remains ongoing and American tourists are stranded in Mexico after the Mexican government killed drug cartel leader El Mencho.
Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., called on the Government Accountability Office and the Justice Department’s inspector general to investigate FBI Director Kash Patel’s use of FBI resources, accusing him of taking a “joyride” on the agency’s plane (Kevin Dietsch/Getty)
New York Governor Kathy Hochul called on Patel to resign, citing the whistleblower report.
She wrote on The
Citing “reliable sources,” Dubin said Patel allegedly told FBI field office personnel, “If you like golfing, hockey, fishing or hunting and seeing beautiful scenery, you’re going to see a lot of me.”
“I ask that the Government Accountability Office’s ongoing review address the new information described below and that the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General (DOJ OIG) investigate Director Patel’s misuse or management of government resources,” Durbin wrote in the letter.
Patel is required to travel using an agency aircraft and is entitled to leave while employed at the bureau.
independent Patel has been asked to comment.
