FBI Director Kash Patel Criticized for Assigning SWAT Team Members to Protect His Country Singer Girlfriend Alexis Wilkins

FBI Director Kash Patel is facing backlash after reports that members of a SWAT unit have been assigned to provide security for his girlfriend, country singer Alexis Wilkins.

According to MS NOW (formerly MSNBC), Wilkins, 27, has a protective detail due to potential threats. The outlet cited two people with direct knowledge of the arrangement. The detail reportedly includes elite agents typically based out of the FBI’s Nashville field office, an assignment that current and former officials described as highly unusual.

Critics say using specialized SWAT agents for a personal protective mission could weaken the bureau’s ability to respond quickly to emergencies in the Nashville area. The New York Times reported that SWAT resources have been diverted to Wilkins multiple times over recent months, raising concerns about whether agents trained for high-risk operations should be reassigned to guard a private citizen.

Normally, security for partners of top FBI officials is limited to instances when they travel together. MS NOW noted that the spouse of former FBI Director Christopher Wray received protection only during joint travel, and the same standard reportedly applies to Wilkins when she is traveling with Patel. The separate SWAT protection in Nashville, however, appears to go beyond that norm.

Former FBI agent Christopher O’Leary, now a law-enforcement contributor at MS NOW, called the arrangement indefensible. He argued that Wilkins is not Patel’s spouse, does not live with him, and resides in a different city. MS NOW reported that Patel’s legal residence is in Las Vegas, while he frequently travels to Washington, D.C., and that the couple does not live together.

O’Leary also criticized Patel more broadly in comments to the Times, pointing to what he described as repeated personal use of government resources. He cited Patel’s alleged recreational travel on a government jet as further evidence of poor judgment.

In a statement to MS NOW, the FBI defended the decision to protect Wilkins, saying she has received “hundreds of credible death threats” connected to her relationship with Patel, whom she has dated for three years. The bureau declined to share additional details.

The controversy arrives amid separate scrutiny of Patel’s travel habits. Media reports have alleged that he used a government-owned FBI aircraft in October to fly to State College, Pennsylvania, where Wilkins performed the national anthem at a wrestling event at Penn State University. The Times also reported that Patel used a government jet for other personal trips, including a summer golf visit to Scotland.

Patel addressed what he called unfounded speculation in a Nov. 2 post on X, criticizing “baseless rumors” and “fake news,” while defending Wilkins as a patriot and his partner. He did not directly respond to the specific allegations about SWAT protection or government-jet travel.