FBI Director Kash Patel has defended his trip to the Winter Olympics in Italy after footage of him celebrating with the USA hockey team drew online criticism.
In a post on X, Patel told "very concerned media" he was "extremely humbled" to be with the men's team after their victory over Canada in Milan.
Footage showed the FBI chief drinking a beer and cheering with the players in a locker room on Sunday.
Shortly before the celebration, Patel had posted on X that the FBI was "dedicating all necessary resources" to investigating how an armed man tried to enter President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. Secret Service agents fatally shot the alleged intruder.
Patel wrote on social media on Sunday: "Yes, I love America and was extremely humbled when my friends, the newly minted Gold Medal winners on Team USA, invited me into the locker room to celebrate this historic moment with the boys- Greatest country on earth and greatest sport on earth."
