Charlie Kirk’s assassin remains at large, and critics note it’s not because the shooter was too skilled to be caught, but because President Donald Trump’s government is broken.
His appointment of Kash Patel, his racially motivated purges of career federal agents, and his diversion of the FBI into immigration dragnets instead of counterterrorism have left the nation exposed.
Kirk was killed with a single shot to the neck while speaking at Utah Valley University. Authorities confirmed the sniper fired from about 200 yards away and “wasn’t an amateur.”
Patel immediately went public.
“The subject for the horrific shooting today that took the life of Charlie Kirk is now in custody,” Patel said. “Thank you to the local and state authorities in Utah for your partnership with [FBI].”
Two hours later, he walked it back.
“The subject has been released after an interrogation by law enforcement,” he stated.
On MSNBC, NBC justice and intelligence correspondent Ken Dilanian blasted Patel’s contradictions.
“What’s clear is that the information flow to [Patel] has not been accurate, or he is not interpreting it correctly, because it was just remarkable to have him say that,” Dilanian argued. “Essentially imply that the shooter had been caught and then two hours later announcing that that person was not, in fact, the shooter and had been released. That just doesn’t happen in these situations.”
Dilanian detailed how Trump had fired the FBI’s Salt Lake City field chief, a “decorated, well-regarded Pakistani American female agent who joined the bureau after 9/11 and spent years doing counterterrorism work.”
“So, you have a new agent in charge of that office,” Dilanian continued. “Whether that is having an impact on the response and on the communication and information flow remains to be seen. But it’s something that the public should know about.”
He also exposed the consequences of Trump’s immigration obsession.
“We reporters who cover the FBI have been hearing for months now that many FBI agents who have been devoted to domestic terrorism — in particular domestic terrorism squads and those working on domestic terrorism cases — have been diverted to the immigration enforcement effort, which is the thing that the FBI normally does not do,” Dilanian remarked.
Like Dilanian, many experts railed on social media that Trump replaced competence with cronyism. They noted that he elevated Patel, purged seasoned agents, and ordered the FBI to carry out his nonsensical immigration crackdown instead of protecting Americans from political violence.
Many concluded that it is why Kirk’s killer has not been caught, and ultimately, the responsibility is Trump’s.
“[FBI agents once focused on domestic terrorism are] required to go out on patrol [for immigration enforcement]. Some full time. Some have just walked away from their domestic terrorism duties. And this is at a time when… extremism, domestic extremism in this country is on the rise and political violence is on the rise,” Dilanian continued. “The FBI is the agency that we expect to address that. And it’s not clear that all the resources that are capable of being brought to bear on this problem are, in fact, being brought to bear.”
