A whistleblower alleged that without an available plane to fly to Providence from Quantico, Virginia after the Dec. 13 mass shooting, Federal Bureau of Investigation agents had to drive to Rhode Island overnight through a winter storm to process evidence at 9 a.m. the next day.
In a Feb. 24 letter sent to the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General and the Government Accountability Office, U.S. Sen. Richard Durbin (D-IL) accused FBI Director Kash Patel of mismanaging government resources in multiple instances, including the mass shooting at Brown, citing multiple “credible whistleblower disclosures.”
According to the letter, Patel placed the Hostage Rescue Team — a specialized counterterrorism unit — on standby to respond to the shooting, which froze the use of available FBI jets for other teams. Durbin, who is the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, called on the DOJ OIG to open an investigation into Patel’s alleged resource mismanagement or misuse — a topic that has come into the spotlight following videos and photos posted online of Patel celebrating the U.S. men’s hockey team’s Olympic win in Italy.
According to MS NOW, Patel allegedly was in Florida on Dec. 13, after using a private jet to visit family, and flew back to Washington the day after.
Patel’s “potential misuse of an FBI jet during a time when it should have been all hands on deck reflects a troubling pattern of abusing taxpayer funds and poor judgment that has real consequences,” U.S. Rep. Gabe Amo (D-R.I. 1) wrote in a statement sent to The Herald. On Jan. 28, Amo called for the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to provide briefings on developments related to the shooting.
Durbin’s letter also asserts that Patel’s placement of the HRT on standby to respond to the shooting caused confusion within the FBI. The HRT is “generally activated for situations that one of the FBI’s 56 SWAT teams cannot handle,” Durbin wrote. But because the FBI’s Boston Field Office, which covers Providence, has an enhanced SWAT team, the responsibility usually designated to local authorities was “upended.” The decision was not communicated to the HRT, Durbin adds in the letter.
In a post on X, FBI spokesperson Ben Williamson denied that Patel had delayed the shooting response, calling the claims “ridiculous.” He wrote that the FBI Boston was on the scene in less than two hours and that because the case was initially “a State-led homicide investigation,” it did not fall instantly under FBI purview.
“The FBI jumped all over this case and provided any and all resources needed in a timely manner,” he wrote.
The FBI National Press Office and the FBI Boston Field Office did not respond to requests for further comment.
The letter follows Durbin’s previous request in May that the DOJ and GAO investigate Patel for improper use of government resources.
In the letter, Durbin pointed to multiple other alleged misuses of FBI private jets by Patel.
For example, he wrote that the FBI team was delayed to the site of the assassination of Charlie Kirk in September due to Patel’s “personal flights.” In a Feb. 24 post on X, Williamson wrote that Patel was in Washington the day that Kirk was assassinated and was in New York the following day for 9/11 ceremonies.
Durbin also pointed to the breach of Mar-a-Lago on Sunday and Patel’s use of an FBI jet for his trip to Italy, which Williamson claimed was for diplomatic reasons in a post on X.
“Patel has seemingly engaged in what amounts to irresponsible joyriding on DOJ and FBI-operated aircraft at the expense of the American taxpayer and to the detriment of ongoing Bureau operations,” Durbin wrote.
Ian Ritter is a university news and science & research editor, covering graduate schools and students. He is a junior concentrating in chemistry. When he isn’t at The Herald or exploding lab experiments, you can find him playing the clarinet or watching the Mets.
