FBI Director Kash Patel has come under fire after he rushed to post a contentious image of an unused “anti-ICE” bullet casing recovered at the scene of a deadly shooting in Texas.
Weeks after he faced a backlash for premature posts made after Charlie Kirk’s assassination, conservatives and critics alike have hit out at the MAGA acolyte for another post made in the wake of a tragedy.
The post was made shortly after one immigrant was killed and two others were shot and wounded after a sniper opened fire at an ICE detention facility in Dallas just before 7 am on Wednesday, in the latest act of gun violence in America.
No law enforcement agents were hurt in the shooting and investigators have released few details. However, Patel posted an image of the ammunition on X and said the attack was politically motivated.
“While the investigation is ongoing, an initial review of the evidence shows an ideological motive behind this attack (see photo below). One of the unspent shell casings recovered was engraved with the phrase “ANTI ICE.” More updates will be forthcoming,” he wrote.
But the post and the photo immediately came under scrutiny, with some questioning why the FBI Director was rushing to social media so early into an investigation, while others accused him directly of trying to create a narrative to blame Democrats.
Several observers even noted the “engraved” casings looked more like they had been marked “Anti-ICE” with a blue sharpie.
“I just continue to think the Director of the FBI should not try competing with the Tweeter-in-Chief and actually let the investigators leading the investigation handle this stuff,” Christian broadcaster and conservative commentator Erick Erickson said.
Gun control advocate Fred Guttenberg, whose daughter died in the Parkland school shooting, agreed.
“Perhaps if you are serious about solving this you will focus on doing so and not just putting out something that feels like a lie,” Guttenberg wrote in response to Patel’s post.
One social media user warned that the Trump administration must be laying the groundwork for new laws cracking down on people attacking ICE agents, while singer-songwriter Bill Madden accused Patel of “another bizarre attempt to incite hate against the left.”
“Trusting glorified moll cop Kash Patel to deliver accurate and honest information is like trusting Trump, Jeffrey Epstein, and Ghislaine Maxwell to babysit your teen daughters,” Madden wrote.
The shooting took place around 6.40 am at the Dallas Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office, a facility that is typically used to process illegal immigrants after they have been arrested and before they are transported to a long-term detention facility.
According to preliminary police investigations, the suspect opened fire on the office from an adjacent building.
Homeland Security officials initially said that two detainees had been killed and one wounded, but hours later issued a correction to clarify that “one detainee is deceased, and two others are in critical condition.” They did not explain how they got the initial death toll wrong.
Meanwhile, the shooter, who the New York Times has identified as Joshua Jahn, 29, died of self-inflicted gunshot wounds.
Law enforcement officials provided few details about the shooter or the victims and took no questions at a brief press conference on Wednesday morning, just as Patel turned to social media to post the image of the casings.
By that stage, however, MAGA Republicans had already sought to blame Democrats and the “radical left” for the incident.
By Wednesday afternoon, Trump also weighed in, writing on Truth Social: “This violence is the result of the Radical Left Democrats constantly demonizing Law Enforcement, calling for ICE to be demolished, and comparing ICE Officers to Nazis.
“I will be signing an Executive Order this week to dismantle these Domestic Terrorism Networks,” he added.
The Dallas shooting is not the first time that Patel, who former FBI officials have depicted as being “obsessed” with social media, has come under fire for his postings.
The FBI director also faced criticism this month after announcing prematurely that a suspect in Charlie Kirk’s murder had been taken into custody.
Within hours, however, local Utah officials contradicted that statement, saying no suspect had been confirmed in custody.
While Patel later defended his handling of the investigation, others in MAGA world were not so forgiving.
“Stop all this click bait shit you keep doing,” wrote Joe Biggs, a Proud Boys leader who served time in jail for his role in the January 6 Capitol attack.
