Patel sparks outrage partying with Team USA as MAGA cheers him on

FBI Director Kash Patel is at the center of an online firestorm after videos captured inside Team USA’s men’s hockey locker room on Sunday showed him chugging beers, singing a Toby Keith song and partying with the Olympic gold medal-winning team.

Patel’s spirited celebration in the locker room after the game angered critics, primarily Democrats, who wondered on social media why he was there, even as voices on the right jumped in to defend him.

Patel, a noted hockey fan, was in Milan to watch the U.S. take down Canada in overtime 2-1, claiming the team’s first gold medal in more than 40 years and only the third in its history.

On Friday, the FBI pushed back on reports about Patel’s use of government aircraft to travel to Milan, saying that the director was in Italy “meeting with regional partners and security teams,” on travel that was planned months in advance. A spokesman also said planned attendance at the Games was because “the FBI also has a major role in Olympic security.”

But his spirited celebration in the locker room after the gold-medal game angered critics who wondered on social media why he was there.

“The grift & corruption is unreal,” wrote Rep. Jason Crow (D-Colo.) in one social media post. “Your taxpayer dollars funding the FBI Director’s Italian vacation.”

https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5750666-kash-patel-team-usa-backlash/