FBI Director Kash Patel is learning the pitfalls of running an agency chock-full of conspiracy theorists like himself.

The director, who was seemingly nominated for the role primarily because of his sworn allegiance to President Donald Trump and a habit of pushing MAGA conspiracy theories, has become the movement’s whipping boy ever since he assumed his position — largely over his failures to provide evidence supporting MAGA conspiracy theories. 

Last week, this came to a head when Patel fired Stephen Friend, a far-right influencer, FBI agent and former Patel ally who gained fame among the MAGA faithful after being suspended from the agency under the Biden administration for reportedly sympathizing with Jan. 6 insurrectionists. 

In a letter sent to Friend last Friday, Patel told the agent he was fired “effective immediately” for “unprofessional conduct and poor judgment.” The letter cited multiple public claims Friend made fueling baseless allegations of a government-led cover-up related to the apparent Trump supporter authorities allege to have been behind two attempted pipe bombings targeting Republicans and Democrats in Washington on Jan. 5, 2021.

Patel’s letter also cites a bigoted rant Friend delivered on a Dec. 5 podcast episode hosted by right-wing influencer and former FBI Agent Kyle Seraphin, in which Friend appeared to threaten Patel and baselessly suggest the FBI was lying about the identity of the person charged with planting the pipe bombs. 

Friend said:

You better pray to Gaia, Vishnu or whatever your maker is that RealSteveFriend is never in a position to be an instrument of God’s wrath, because I will be merciful. I’ll allow you to breathe every breath that your body will have for the rest of its natural life inside of a box, and then when it ultimately fades to black, that’s when the real wrath begins.

(Gaia is an ancient Greek deity; Vishnu is a primary Hindu god.)

Patel is Hindu and has faced attacks from MAGA enthusiasts over this and his being Indian American. Seraphin is a failed Senate candidate in Utah who’s faced a defamation suit from Patel’s girlfriend over his claims that she is a foreign asset who’s been hired to manipulate the FBI director. Needless to say, this is a pretty messy ordeal — one seemingly befitting an agency led by, and rife with, right-wing radicals with a penchant for spreading dangerous lies.

Patel’s letter says Friend may have a right to appeal his removal from the agency with the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board within 30 days of the letter’s issuance. Friend, for what it’s worth, hasn’t backed off of his comments and has continued defending them on social media ever since Patel issued his letter.

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