WASHINGTON — FBI Director Kash Patel is facing the harshest scrutiny of his tenure after he prematurely and inaccurately claimed that a suspect had been arrested in the fatal shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. The announcement, made on social media before investigators on the ground in Utah had briefed reporters, quickly unraveled and left both the bureau and Patel himself under fire for sowing confusion during a sensitive manhunt.

Patel, a Trump loyalist with no prior law enforcement background, declared late Wednesday that the individual responsible for Kirk’s killing was in custody. Minutes later, local officials contradicted him, saying two people had been questioned and released, and that no suspect had been arrested. The whiplash between Patel’s claim and reality left the public and the media in limbo for hours, until the FBI issued a clarification.

Retired FBI agent Dan Brunner criticized Patel’s move as reckless. “At the outset of an investigation, much of the initial intelligence is typically wrong or slightly off. That’s why what he did yesterday has never been done by any FBI director before him,” Brunner said. “The FBI does not run investigations on social media.”

The White House, speaking through an anonymous source, called Patel’s announcement “unprofessional” and “unacceptable,” though press secretary Karoline Leavitt later sought to defend him publicly. “This is a despicable story from anonymous sources clearly trying to sow distrust amongst the President’s team during a time of utmost unity,” Leavitt said. “Kash Patel is leading the manhunt to catch the killer of our friend, and everyone is supporting him and trying to be as helpful as possible during this effort, including the President of the United States.”

The criticism marks Patel’s first major crisis as director. Appointed by Trump earlier this year, Patel has drawn controversy for reshaping the bureau in ways that many current and former officials say undermine its independence. Multiple agents have been reassigned from traditional work—such as counterterrorism and corruption cases—to pursue political investigations aligned with Trump’s “America First” agenda.

According to three former FBI officials now suing the bureau, Patel told them he had been ordered to fire anyone who worked on cases against Trump during his first presidency. Among those dismissed was the top official in the Salt Lake City field office—the very office now leading the Kirk investigation.

The mishandling of Wednesday’s announcement has only sharpened concerns about Patel’s lack of experience. “This is unorthodox and could be confusing in that details change quickly,” said former Homeland Security official John Cohen. Current and former FBI personnel echoed those concerns, noting that even minor missteps during early stages of an investigation can compromise public trust and officer safety.

Meanwhile, the investigation into Kirk’s murder remains ongoing. On Thursday morning, FBI Special Agent in Charge Robert Bohls confirmed that investigators had recovered the rifle used in the shooting at Utah Valley State College in Orem, where Kirk was gunned down before a crowd of 3,000 people. Bohls said, however, that no suspect had been captured.

In an effort to accelerate the manhunt, the FBI released photos of a person of interest and announced a $100,000 reward for information leading to an arrest. Conservative activist Laura Loomer blasted the reward as inadequate, calling it “a slap in the face to Charlie Kirk.”

Kirk’s killing, the latest in a string of high-profile acts of political violence in the United States this year, has placed the FBI under extraordinary pressure to deliver results quickly. For Patel, however, the stakes extend beyond one investigation. His credibility—and the public’s faith in the FBI—are now directly tied to how swiftly and carefully the bureau can correct course after his misstep.

Before becoming director, Patel had made a name for himself by criticizing the FBI and alleging that a “deep state” persecuted Trump. As a congressional staffer, he helped lead Republican efforts to challenge the bureau’s investigation into Trump’s 2016 campaign. Now, as head of the very institution he once denounced, Patel is discovering the peril of his own rhetoric: one inaccurate statement can shake confidence not just in his leadership, but in the FBI itself.

As Thursday ended, one fact remained clear. The killer of Charlie Kirk is still at large—and the nation is left questioning whether its top law enforcement agency is being guided by competence or chaos.