In a dramatic display of law enforcement resolve, FBI Director Kash Patel has announced his first major arrest since assuming leadership of the bureau—an operation that has already set off a firestorm of reactions from various political factions. Patel’s announcement, made via social media on
Monday night, detailed a significant crackdown on gang-related criminal activity along the nation’s borders, marking an aggressive step in the FBI’s ongoing commitment to national security and border enforcement.
FBI Director Kash Patel is considering bringing in trainers from the Ultimate Fighting Championship to beef up agents’ martial arts and self-defense skills, according to four people familiar with the plan laid out on a call with FBI field offices. The newly appointed director discussed the idea during his first video conference call with the bureau’s 55 field office supervisors last month, said the people, who were granted anonymity to discuss the call’s contents because they were not authorized to speak publicly. Two people briefed on the matter said current FBI agents described the idea as ‘surreal’ and ‘wacky.’ The FBI declined to comment.
President Donald Trump is a fan of the sport, mixed martial arts bouts that pit two competitors against each other in a cage, and notably attended a UFC event in New York days after his November election victory, sitting with UFC President Dana White, who he counts as a close friend. A UFC official said the UFC is ‘not aware of any information regarding UFC and FBI training.’ During the call, Patel said that Dan Bongino, a far-right podcaster whom Trump tapped to be the FBI’s deputy director, is a huge UFC fan and that he inspired Patel to try the training, one of the people briefed on the call said.
‘There is training the FBI receives in physical altercations. If Kash Patel believed that should be beefed up, the answer is not to go to Donald Trump’s best friend who runs the UFC,’ a former Justice Department official said, when asked about Patel’s proposal.
‘It’s clearly motivated by the glitz and glamour show, and Trump’s friend,’ said the official, who was granted anonymity out of concern about possible retribution. It was not immediately clear how any partnership would work.
