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Topics: US News, Politics, Olympics, Social Media, Sport
Rhiannon Ingle
Topics: US News, Politics, Olympics, Social Media, Sport
Footage circulating online appears to show FBI director Kash Patel downing a beer and celebrating with the Team USA men’s hockey squad at the Winter Olympics over the weekend.
Patel, an amateur player and long-time fan, travelled to Italy earlier this week on a government jet.
After Team USA's victory of 2-1 against Canada on Sunday (22 February), Patel congratulated the team and headed into the locker room for the celebrations.
Video shared by multiple outlets, including The Telegraph and the Independent, appears to show him drinking and spraying beer, banging on a table and celebrating before forward Matthew Tkachuk drapes his gold medal around Patel's neck while the group loudly sings 'Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue' by the late Toby Keith.
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The images have sparked anger across social media, given the bureau’s insistence that the visit was official business and 'not a personal trip'.
Patel has since addressed the backlash online, writing on X: "For the very concerned media - yes, I love America and was extremely humbled when my friends, the newly minted Gold Medal winners on Team USA, invited me into the locker room to celebrate this historic moment with the boys- Greatest country on earth and greatest sport on earth."
Earlier, alongside photos from the post-game party, he posted: "Unity, Sacrifice, Attitude- what it takes to be the best in the world.
"These men live and breathe it. Now Team USA are gold medal champions, legends standing on the shoulders of giants. Thank you for representing the greatest country on earth, in the greatest game ever created."
As scrutiny mounted over the Milan flight, FBI spokesperson Ben Williamson explained that the director was on a business trip 'that was planned months ago'.
He added that Patel held meetings with ambassadors, Italian law enforcement and US agents stationed at the Legat, noting the bureau 'has a major role in Olympic security'.
Williamson described reports suggesting the trip was solely to attend the Olympics as 'misleading', maintaining the visit had long been scheduled to discuss security with international counterparts.
Patel has shared photos from the Milan Joint Operations Center, which he said was responsible for safeguarding American athletes and others travelling to Milan for the Winter Games. He also posted an image from his meeting with the US ambassador to Italy, per the Associated Press.
While he was in Milan, the US Secret Service shot dead an armed man who drove into Mar-a-Lago, President Donald Trump’s Florida resort.
Hours later, as the game against Canada drifted towards overtime, Patel wrote on X that the FBI was 'dedicating all necessary resources in the investigation'.