By John Q. Hosedrinker 
An FBI elite evidence response team experienced delays in reaching a mass shooting scene at Brown University due to the unavailability of FBI aircraft. FBI Director Kash Patel was reportedly using one of the two available jets for personal travel, and had ordered the other held for a different team, preventing the evidence team from deploying promptly. This situation has drawn criticism from Senator Richard Durbin, who accuses Patel of misusing FBI resources and harming critical investigations due to inexperience and misplaced priorities. The whistleblower’s account details how Patel’s actions, including placing the Hostage Rescue Team on standby, further complicated the response.
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The recent revelations concerning FBI Director Kash Patel’s alleged misuse of agency resources, particularly an FBI jet, have ignited significant controversy, especially in light of a mass shooting incident. According to whistleblower accounts provided to a top senator, elite FBI evidence response teams were significantly delayed in reaching the scene of a mass shooting at Brown University in December because the necessary aircraft was unavailable.
This delay, it is claimed, stemmed directly from Director Patel’s own travel plans. At the time of the shooting, Patel was reportedly in South Florida, utilizing one of the FBI’s two available jets. Furthermore, it has been alleged that he issued an order to hold the second jet for another team, a team that would not typically be dispatched to such an event. This directive effectively prevented the evidence response team from immediately deploying, forcing them to instead undertake an overnight drive through a snowstorm to reach the university in Providence, Rhode Island.
The whistleblower’s account details that Patel had ordered the Hostage Rescue Team to be put on standby immediately after learning of the shooting. This action, it seems, froze the availability of the second plane for any other FBI team. This decision apparently caused confusion among FBI officials, as standard procedure would involve deploying SWAT team agents from the nearest local field offices, such as Boston and New York, for immediate support, rather than the specialized Hostage Rescue Team based in Quantico, Virginia.
The Brown University shooting itself was a tragic event. A former graduate student entered a university classroom building, resulting in the deaths of two students and the wounding of nine others before the perpetrator fled. The assailant was later found deceased from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The FBI’s evidence response teams are crucial in such investigations, possessing specialized skills in crime scene mapping and forensic evidence collection, utilizing advanced technical gear to gather vital clues. While evidence collection specialists are based in field offices nationwide, those in the Quantico unit are considered among the most experienced and are often deployed for major crime scenes or mass shootings.
Regarding Director Patel’s use of the jet, an FBI official familiar with his travel stated that the director was visiting his elderly parents at the time, citing security concerns when declining to specify the location. This explanation, however, does little to quell the growing concerns about resource allocation and the potential impact on critical FBI operations.
Senator Durbin, in a letter to relevant authorities, has amplified these concerns, framing them as a follow-up to a previous request for a comprehensive review of the Justice Department’s use of government-controlled aircraft by senior executives. The senator explicitly stated that since his confirmation as FBI Director, Kash Patel has seemingly engaged in “irresponsible joyriding on DOJ and FBI-operated aircraft at the expense of the American taxpayer and to the detriment of ongoing Bureau operations.”
Durbin’s letter specifically requested that the Government Accountability Office’s (GAO) ongoing review incorporate the new information, and that the Department of Justice’s Office of the Inspector General (DOJ OIG) investigate Director Patel’s alleged misuse or mismanagement of government resources. The senator also pointed to a recent trip Patel took to Milan on an FBI jet, noting that while an FBI spokesperson claimed the Director did not go to Italy for leisure, Patel himself admitted to celebrating with the U.S. Men’s Olympic Hockey Team after their victory.
The Milan trip, it was highlighted, occurred on the same weekend as an attempted breach of President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence. While acknowledging that the FBI director is required to fly privately for security reasons, Senator Durbin emphasized that “personal leisure activities and travel bucket list should not dictate work travel, nor should it have a material impact on the Bureau’s time-sensitive operations and investigations.”
Adding further weight to these allegations, Durbin cited a whistleblower account where Patel reportedly told FBI field office personnel that if they had golf, hockey, fishing, or hunting, along with beautiful sights, they would “see a lot of me.” The senator concluded that Patel’s “frequent and unapologetic use of DOJ or FBI-controlled aircraft for personal travel raises concerns about whether he is complying with applicable regulations and reimbursement requirements for non-mission-related travel and whether the Department has sufficient internal controls to track and enforce those obligations.” The whistleblower’s account, according to Durbin, makes it clear that Patel’s travel has “materially harm(ed) the mission of the very agency he has sworn to lead,” especially at a time when federal law enforcement is navigating numerous crises.