Hold onto your hats, folks—former FBI agent and whistleblower Steve Friend has been booted from the bureau once more for crossing a line with threatening comments about Director Kash Patel.
This saga, steeped in controversy, centers on Friend’s recent ouster after a podcast outburst, his history of clashing with FBI brass over the January 6 Capitol attack probe, and a swift fallout with even his former allies.
Let’s rewind to the start: Friend first made waves by alleging that ex-FBI Director Chris Wray unjustly sidelined him for spotlighting flaws in the investigation of the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot, which saw around 1,600 defendants prosecuted.
Suspended in August 2022 and resigning by February 2023, Friend’s return to the FBI payroll in October 2025 was short-lived.
He hadn’t even cleared a background check or started duties at the Jacksonville field office before trouble brewed again.
Then came the spark—during an appearance on The Kyle Seraphin Show podcast, hosted by ex-FBI agent Kyle Seraphin, Friend peddled a conspiracy theory about Patel falsely arresting a suspect tied to the D.C. pipe bombing as a cover-up.
Worse, he veered into dangerous territory with veiled threats about “God’s wrath” aimed at someone in “executive leadership,” a clear jab at Patel with a reference to the Hindu god Vishnu.
“You better pray to Gaia or Vishnu or whatever your maker is, that real Steve Friend is never in a position to be an instrument of God’s wrath, because I will be merciful: I won’t give you a trial and a hanging,” Friend declared on the podcast.
“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 real wrath begins,” he continued. Talk about a verbal grenade—those words didn’t just raise eyebrows; they triggered alarms at FBI headquarters.
A video snippet of this tirade, shared on X by retired FBI supervisory special agent John Nantz, caught the bureau’s attention, prompting a mandatory in-person meeting at the Jacksonville office soon after.
Friend’s remarks weren’t just reckless—they violated FBI rules against unauthorized public commentary on bureau matters, a policy he’d been warned about after rejoining the payroll.
His own legal team at Empower Oversight dropped him as a client on the day of his podcast outburst, noting he risked “further adverse administrative action by the FBI.”
This isn’t Friend’s first misstep; he previously broke protocol by speaking to outlets like the Russian network RT while still technically on the FBI roster during his suspension.
Here’s the irony: before taking the helm at the FBI, Patel was a financial and moral supporter of Friend through his foundation, backing claims of wrongful treatment under the prior administration.
Yet, upon reviewing personnel files as director, Patel reportedly had reservations about the reasons behind Friend’s initial suspension, though the FBI stays silent on specifics. It’s a bitter twist—yesterday’s ally becoming today’s target, and conservatives must wonder if Friend’s fervor outpaced his judgment in this messy fallout.
