When Ms Alexis Wilkins, an aspiring country singer dating US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) director Kash Patel, sang The Star-Spangled Banner at the National Rifle Association’s (NRA) annual convention in Atlanta in the spring, she arrived with a formidable protective posse – a Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team from the bureau’s local field office.
The two agents, members of a specialised unit trained to storm barricaded buildings and rescue hostages, had been sent there on Mr Patel’s orders. But seeing that the event at the Georgia World Congress Center had been secured, and that Ms Wilkins was in no apparent danger, they left before the event was over, according to six people with knowledge of the incident.
She noticed. So did her boyfriend.
Soon after, Mr Patel ripped into the team’s commander, saying that his girlfriend had been left without taxpayer-funded defenders, and slamming what he saw as failure to communicate their movements up the chain of command during her time on the convention floor – where she sang and chatted with attendees, the people said.
He was concerned that Ms Wilkins, a high-profile conservative, might be attacked by people who had threatened her online.
Mr Patel’s heavy use of US taxpayer-funded resources during his first nine months on the job has contributed to growing questions inside the administration about whether it exceeds the bounds of standard practice. This includes an intense use of security to protect himself and his girlfriend.
Hellbound and Down 