FBI Director Kash Patel Faces Backlash Over SWAT Guard Abandoning Girlfriend at NRA Event

When Kash Patel, the FBI director, stormed into a briefing room in April 2024 after learning his girlfriend had been left alone on stage during the national anthem, he didn’t just yell—he screamed. The setting? The Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta. The woman? Alexis Wilkins, a 27-year-old country singer and political commentator. The agents? A SWAT team assigned to protect her—because, according to the FBI, she’s received hundreds of credible death threats tied to her relationship with Patel. But here’s the thing: they left before her performance ended. And Patel didn’t just notice. He exploded.

"She Was Left Exposed"

According to multiple sources, including The New York Times and ex-FBI agent turned podcaster Kyle Seraphin, the SWAT detail had conducted a security sweep and deemed the venue safe. They assumed their job was done after Wilkins stepped onto the stage. What they didn’t account for was the crowd: a sea of NRA members, many openly hostile to Patel’s leadership, with cameras rolling. When Wilkins finished singing, she was met with boos—and silence from the security team that had vanished.

Patel reportedly called the team’s commander into his office within hours. "You left her exposed," he allegedly said, his voice shaking. "You think this is a concert? This is a battlefield. And she’s the target." The FBI later confirmed Wilkins’ security detail was authorized due to "ongoing credible threats," but refused to elaborate on the nature of those threats—stoking further suspicion.

Jet Setting for Love

The Atlanta incident was just the tip of the iceberg. Flight logs obtained by The Wall Street Journal show Patel used the FBI director’s taxpayer-funded jet for at least 16 personal trips to visit Wilkins between 2024 and 2025: nine to Las Vegas, seven to Nashville, where she lives. One trip, on October 25, 2025, took him from Washington, D.C., to Mar-a-Lago, then straight to Nashville—just to see her sing the anthem at a Penn State wrestling match. That’s 1,100 miles round trip on a jet that costs $12,000 an hour to operate.

"We’re in the middle of a government shutdown," Seraphin said in a viral podcast episode. "Agents are being furloughed. Paychecks are delayed. And Patel’s flying his girlfriend to wrestling events like she’s a celebrity? That’s not just bad judgment. That’s abuse of power." The pattern was clear: whenever Wilkins performed publicly, Patel made sure his jet was available. Even when the FBI was scrambling to respond to the Charlie Kirk assassination case, agents assigned to Wilkins’ detail were pulled from active duty, according to sources familiar with the case.

"Mossad Honeytrap" and the MAGA Storm

Wilkins didn’t ask for this. But she became the lightning rod for a far-right conspiracy machine. After she took legal action against prominent MAGA influencers for defamation, her name exploded online. Conspiracy theorists claimed she was a "Mossad honeytrap," a foreign operative planted to compromise Patel. Others accused her of manipulating Patel to gain access to FBI investigations. The claims were baseless—but they spread like wildfire.

Patel fired back on X (formerly Twitter): "The disgustingly baseless attacks against Alexis—a true patriot and the woman I’m proud to call my partner in life—are beyond pathetic." But the damage was done. The narrative stuck. And it gave cover to critics who didn’t care about the truth—they just wanted to tear down the FBI’s credibility.

Trump’s Growing Frustration

President Donald Trump, who once praised Patel as a "strong leader," is reportedly tired of the headlines. According to The Daily Beast, Trump has privately told aides he’s "done with the circus." He’s now considering replacing Patel with Andrew Bailey, the former Missouri attorney general who was named co-deputy FBI director in September 2025. Bailey, a no-nonsense prosecutor with no prior FBI experience, is seen as someone who can clean house without becoming a media spectacle.

Meanwhile, Dan Bongino—Patel’s other deputy, despite having zero FBI background—is considered a long shot. Sources say Bongino’s own controversies make him politically toxic.

The Fallout

The pressure mounted. In November 2025, after Seraphin published the flight logs, Patel allegedly cornered Steven Palmer, head of the FBI’s critical incident response group, and demanded his resignation. "Either you quit, or I fire you," he reportedly said. Palmer, who had overseen the aviation unit, declined to comment publicly but reportedly submitted his resignation within 48 hours.

And then there was the New Zealand incident. In summer 2025, Patel reportedly gifted senior security officials there with inoperable 3D-printed revolvers—Maverick PG22s—as "souvenirs." The gesture, intended as a token of goodwill, sparked diplomatic confusion. New Zealand officials had no idea what to do with the weapons, which couldn’t fire but looked real enough to trigger alarm protocols.

What’s Next?

The Justice Department has reportedly opened a preliminary review into whether Patel violated federal ethics rules by using government assets for personal benefit. The FBI’s inspector general is also said to be reviewing the security protocols surrounding Wilkins’ protection detail.

But the deeper question lingers: When does personal loyalty cross into institutional corruption? Patel argues he was protecting his partner from real threats. Critics say he turned the FBI into his personal security detail. And with the agency’s morale at a historic low, the public’s trust—already shaken—may not survive another scandal.