FBI Director Kash Patel has come under fire after a viral locker room video showed him celebrating with Team USA following an Olympic hockey victory. The controversy happened shortly after his spokesperson dismissed reports that Patel attended the Olympic hockey game using taxpayer money, calling those claims “false.”
Kash Patel faces backlash for partying in locker room
The controversy started when clips from Detroit Red Wings star Dylan Larkin’s Instagram Live went viral. It showed Kash Patel smiling alongside players amid the raucous post-game celebration. The now-deleted video has ignited a firestorm of criticism, with many questioning both Patel’s presence at the event and the cost of his travel.
The backlash intensified after Ben Williamson, Patel’s spokesperson, had pushed back against a report suggesting that he used government funds to attend the Olympic hockey game. “Your rag outlet wrote that [Patel] went to hang out at the Olympics on the taxpayer dime – even when provided information that your theory was false. When you’re ready to correct that let me know. Won’t hold my breath,” Williamson had written, slamming the MS Now report (via Hindustan Times).
However, the video of Patel in the locker room quickly gained traction online. “Caught in a lie,” one social media user posted alongside the footage. This was widely shared by journalists, including MS Now’s Ken Dilanian and Steve Baker from The Blaze.
The same social media user also posted a video of Patel and the players celebrating the win with drinks.
Patel himself addressed the situation in two X posts. In the first, he celebrated the team’s achievement: “Unity, Sacrifice, Attitude- what it takes to be the best in the world. These men live and breathe it.”
He later directly addressed the controversy, writing: “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.”
Nevertheless, the visuals have fueled public anger.
