Full Breakdown
FBI Director Kash Patel’s VIP Snorkel at Pearl Harbor Memorial Sparks Scrutiny
5/15/2026, 3:25:48 AM
VIP Snorkel at USS Arizona Memorial
In August 2023, FBI Director Kash Patel participated in a military-coordinated “VIP snorkel” around the USS Arizona at Pearl Harbor, a wreck that holds the remains of over 900 service members.
Background & Context
Snorkeling at the USS Arizona is normally prohibited; the site is a military cemetery reachable only by boat. Since the Obama administration, the Navy and National Park Service have quietly allowed a few senior officials to swim for special occasions.
Official Statements & Responses
The FBI said regional commanders “hosted Director Patel at Joint Base Harbor-Hickam as they commonly do with U.S. officials on official travel,” describing the stop as part of public national-security engagements with New Zealand, Australia and Honolulu. Navy Capt. Jodie Cornell confirmed participants were told not to touch the wreck and were briefed on its historic significance. The National Park Service declined comment.
Criticism, Opposition, and On-the-Ground Perspectives
Justice Connection founder Stacey Young warned the swim “fits a pattern of Director Patel getting tangled up in distractions…instead of staying laser-focused on keeping Americans safe.” Hack Albertson, a Marine veteran, called it “like having a bachelor party at a church,” stressing memorial’s solemnity. Deidre Kelley, president of Sons and Daughters of Pearl Harbor Survivors, said she “has not heard of anyone who would object to these visits as they are rare and there aren’t any survivors of Arizona left alive.”
Conflicting Reports & Gaps
Government emails confirm military officials arranged the snorkel, but the Navy could not identify who initiated it. The National Park Service denied involvement. No agency comment addressed Patel’s activities beyond the swim, and flight-tracking shows the FBI Gulfstream G550 stayed in Hawaii for two nights before departing for Las Vegas. An AP report later revealed Patel gifted illegal 3-D-printed replica pistols to foreign police and intelligence leaders, a detail absent from official statements.
Verbatim Quotes
- “It fits a pattern of Director Patel getting tangled up in unseemly distractions — this time at a site commemorating the second deadliest attack in U.S. history — instead of staying laser-focused on keeping Americans safe,” — Stacey Young, Justice Connection founder
- “It's like having a bachelor party at a church.” — Hack Albertson, Marine veteran, Paralyzed Veterans of America
- “I have not heard of anyone who would object to these visits as they are very rare and there aren't any survivors of the Arizona left alive," Deidre Kelley, national president of the Sons and Daughters of Pearl Harbor Survivors, wrote in an email.” — Deidre Kelley, Sons and Daughters of Pearl Harbor Survivors president
- “It was a very somber and meaningful event," Miller said in an interview.” — Christopher Miller, former acting secretary of defense
What’s Next
The snorkeling episode has intensified scrutiny of Patel’s use of FBI resources, especially after the Associated Press reported his distribution of illegal replica firearms to foreign officials. Lawmakers and oversight bodies are expected to seek clarification on the authorization process for such excursions and on compliance with U.S. and foreign weapons regulations.
