FBI director Kash Patel joins Team USA celebration in Milan, Italy as another crisis unfolds, and his response says everything you need to know

FBI Director Kash Patel is certainly making headlines, not just for his agency’s critical work, but for a spirited celebration with the U.S. men’s hockey team after their gold medal victory in Milan, Italy, as reported by The Hill. This high-energy moment, captured on camera, has drawn both cheers and criticism, especially since the FBI is simultaneously grappling with significant investigations back home.

Patel was right there in the Team USA locker room on the final day of the Winter Olympics, getting into the spirit of things. You can see him enjoying a beer and banging on a table. The celebration really hit its peak when forward Matthew Tkachuk draped his gold medal around Patel, and the whole group launched into a loud rendition of “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue” by the late Toby Keith.

Addressing those who questioned his presence, Patel took to X, stating, “For the very concerned media – yes, I love America and was extremely humbled when my friends, the newly minted Gold Medal winners on Team USA, invited me into the locker room to celebrate this historic moment with the boys- Greatest country on earth and greatest sport on earth.”

Patel’s trip to Italy unfolded as the FBI is deeply involved in two high-profile domestic situations

The U.S. men’s hockey team had an incredible journey to that gold medal, defeating Canada 2-1. Jack Hughes scored the sudden-death goal, securing the country’s first gold in the sport since the legendary “Miracle on Ice” victory over the Soviet Union in 1980, followed by a win against Finland in Lake Placid, New York. The U.S. women’s hockey team also claimed gold earlier that week, beating Canada 2-1 in overtime for their third gold since women’s hockey debuted at the Winter Games in 1998.

Beyond the celebrations, Patel, a recreational hockey player himself, was in Milan for official duties as well. He met with the Milan Joint Operations Center on Saturday, an interagency effort involving international partners focused on supporting the Winter Olympics and Paralympic Games. Patel shared on X that this operation is dedicated to protecting U.S. athletes, the 250,000 U.S. citizens who traveled to Milan for the games, and the private sector companies with whom the FBI shares information daily.

However, for the FBI, one major case is the ongoing search for Nancy Guthrie, an 84-year-old mother of longtime NBC anchor Savannah Guthrie. She has been missing from her home outside Tucson, Arizona, for over three weeks, with authorities, including the FBI and the Pima County Sheriff’s Department, believing she was taken against her will.

Simultaneously, the FBI is leading the investigation into a fatal shooting at President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, early on Sunday morning. Law enforcement personnel shot and killed an armed man, later identified by the FBI as 21-year-old Austin Tucker Martin, after he entered the “secure perimeter” of the resort. Secret Service chief of communications Anthony Guglielmi confirmed the incident.

While President Trump was not at Mar-a-Lago at the time, he frequently spends weekends there during the winter months. Later on Sunday, the Palm County Sheriff’s Office released a photo of the weapon and a gas can found on Martin after he was killed.