After New York Times reporter Elizabeth Williamson published an article about FBI Director Kash Patel directing FBI SWAT teams to serve as a personal security detail and chauffeur service for his 27-year-old girlfriend Alexis Wilkins, the FBI opened an investigation into Williamson herself.
FBI agents interviewed Patel's girlfriend, queried databases for information on the reporter, and recommended moving forward to determine whether Williamson broke federal stalking laws through her “aggressive reporting techniques.” Justice Department officials saw the inquiry as retaliation for an article Patel and Wilkins “did not like” and determined there was no legal basis to proceed. The investigation was shut down.
The original article detailed SWAT teams escorting Wilkins to a Nashville hair salon, armed escorts to conservative singing events, FBI agents driving her 135 miles to LAX after a Palm Desert gala, and FBI agents substituting for British royal security at a London airport.
NYT Executive Editor Joe Kahn: “A blatant violation of Elizabeth's First Amendment rights and another attempt by this administration to prevent journalists from scrutinizing its actions.”
This is the second known FBI action against a journalist under Patel's leadership. In January 2026, FBI agents searched Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson's home after she wrote about federal workers impacted by Trump policies. First Amendment lawyers called it a “radical escalation.”
The pattern: write a story Patel doesn't like, get investigated by the FBI. The fact that DOJ officials themselves called it retaliation and killed the inquiry shows how far Patel was willing to go — and that the only thing stopping him was career officials with institutional integrity.