FBI director under fire after making major error about Charlie Kirk shooting suspect

The director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Kash Patel, has come under fire after making a major error about the Charlie Kirk shooting suspect.

Kirk, 31, was shot in the neck while speaking to a crowd at Utah Valley University in Orem last Wednesday (10 September) for his American Comeback Tour, before being subsequently rushed to hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The Conservative activist leaves behind his wife, Erika, and their two young children.

Tyler Robinson, a 22-year-old Utah native, has since been arrested following the shooting that rocked the nation, with Patel speaking to reporters at a press conference which took place two days later (12 September) to share the latest updates.

FBI director, Kash Patel, has been called out after making a major error about the Charlie Kirk shooter suspect, Tyler Robinson (Michael Ciaglo / Stringer / Getty Images)

However, Patel made an early claim on X, the social media platform on which he frequently posts, that the FBI arrested Kirk’s assassin mere hours after the killing.

But, this later proved to be untrue and soon became fodder for critics, with many hitting out over the professionalism of an FBI director who prematurely declared the arrest of a major suspect in a very public assassination.

Taking to X on Wednesday, he posted to his nearly two million followers: "The subject for the horrific shooting today that took the life of Charlie Kirk is now in custody.

"Thank you to the local and state authorities in Utah for your partnership with @fbi. We will provide updates when able."

Then, just two hours later, Patel was forced to backtrack, posting: "The subject in custody has been released after an interrogation by law enforcement."

He added: "Our investigation continues and we will continue to release information in interest of transparency."

Patel then attempted to address the quick and misleading initial post during a Fox News interview on Monday (15 September).

"I was being transparent with working with the public on our findings, as I had them," he said on Fox and Friends. "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."

Kirk was shot dead while attending a debate on the campus of Utah Valley University for his American Comeback Tour (The Salt Lake Tribune / Contributor / Getty Images)

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

Patel went on: "I was telling the world what the FBI was doing as we were doing and I’m continuing to do that.

"I challenge anyone out there to find a director that has been more transparent and more willing to work the media on high-profile cases or any case the FBI is handling than we have been under my leadership."

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