Full Breakdown
FBI Director Kash Patel’s VIP Snorkel at USS Arizona Memorial
5/15/2026, 3:15:05 AM
Snorkel Event
Last summer, FBI Director Kash Patel joined a “VIP snorkel” around the sunken USS Arizona at Pearl Harbor during a two-day stop after visits to Australia, New Zealand and a briefing at the Honolulu field office. He departed on a Gulfstream G550 after two nights.
Background
The USS Arizona wreck, a tomb for over 900 sailors and Marines, is normally off-limits. Since the Obama era, the Navy and National Park Service have occasionally allowed senior officials to swim there for special occasions. No FBI director has snorkeled the site since 1993.
Official Statements
The FBI said Patel was “hosted … as they commonly do with US government officials on official travel” and that the trip was “part of the Director’s national security engagements” with counterparts in New Zealand, Australia and Honolulu. Navy Capt. Jodie Cornell said participants were told not to touch the wreck and were briefed on its historic significance. National Park Service declined comment.
Criticism
Stacey Young of Justice Connection called the swim a distraction from Patel’s security duties. Marine veteran Hack Albertson said the dive was “like having a bachelor party at a church” and urged solemn treatment of the site. Deidre Kelley, president of the Sons and Daughters of Pearl Harbor Survivors, said she had not heard any family objections.
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
- “It’s like having a bachelor party at a church. It’s hallowed ground.” — Hack Albertson, Marine veteran, Paralyzed Veterans of America
- “It needs to be treated with the solemnity it deserves.” — Hack Albertson
- “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, Sons and Daughters of Pearl Harbor Survivors
Conflicts
Government emails show military coordination of the “VIP snorkel,” but the Navy could not identify who initiated the dive. The National Park Service denied involvement and offered no data on how often such trips occur. The FBI declined comment on the snorkeling session.
Implications
The snorkel has intensified scrutiny of Patel’s use of FBI resources, which already includes a video of him celebrating with the U.S. men’s hockey team after the Winter Olympics and the revelation that he gave inoperable 3D-printed replica pistols—illegal under New Zealand law—to local police and spy officials.
