FBI Director Kash Patel praised law enforcement's quick action and coordinated efforts that prompted the father of the suspected assassin of conservative leader Charlie Kirk to turn his own son in last week.
"In partnership and promise to working with the public to bring this fugitive to justice, we released a new, never-before-seen video of the suspect; we also released new enhanced photos of the suspect," Patel said in his opening statement before a Senate hearing Tuesday morning on Capitol Hill.
"A few hours later, that suspect was in custody pursuant to the interrogation of the suspect's own father, who stated, 'When I saw that video that you released, I recognized it was my son, and I confronted him' – and he was handed over to lawful law enforcement authorities.
"That is the FBI working with the public, as I promised, being transparent and provided critical information along the way in the manhunt for the suspect or suspects involved in Charlie's assassination."
Patel reported the FBI received more than 11,000 tips and 16,000 digital submissions in the first day alone. Patel praised the work of FBI field teams, laboratory technicians in Quantico, and state and local partners in Utah.
Patel also thanked President Donald Trump, Attorney General Pam Bondi, and state officials for supporting the investigation.
"We cannot do our job without the American public," he said, stressing transparency and accountability as central to his leadership.
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
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