Kash Patel’s jail threat to ICE protesters draws accusations of hypocrisy

FBI Director Kash Patel has faced backlash over his jail threat to anti-ICE protesters, with critics accusing the administration of applying different standards compared to Jan. 6 defendants.

The demonstrations broke out in Los Angeles over the weekend following the arrests of dozens accused of immigration violations. As the protests unfolded, Patel wrote on X, “Hit a cop, you’re going to jail … doesn’t matter where you came from, how you got here, or what movement speaks to you. If the local police force won’t back our men and women on the thin blue line, we @FBI will.”

Patel’s post has drawn flak among X users who pointed out the irony in relation to the Jan. 6 insurrection. “But if you do it wearing Trump merch while rioting at the U.S. Capitol, you’ll get a pardon, right, Kash?” one questioned. Another noted, “Just wear MAGA hats and you can beat up cops and smear shit in the U.S. Capitol and get pardoned and maybe even a tasty settlement.”

President Donald Trump granted pardons to some 1,500 individuals charged or convicted in the Capitol attack, including roughly 600 who faced accusations of assaulting officers. More than 140 law enforcement personnel sustained injuries during the incident.