Man Shouts at FBI Director Kash Patel to Get the Epstein Files 'Out There' During Rushed Red Carpet Appearance

Kash Patel was badgered to facilitate the release of the Epstein files during a red carpet appearance over the weekend.

The director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, a Las Vegas native, attended the Formula 1 Heineken Las Vegas Grand Prix on Saturday, Nov. 22, alongside Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

During a rushed red carpet appearance filmed by PEOPLE, an onlooker shouted at Patel to release the files related to the crimes of Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted sex offender and alleged sex trafficker who died in 2019.

"Epstein files, get 'em out there!" someone shouted as Patel and Noem walked briskly past photographers and reporters. Noem, who looked over toward the disrupter, appeared to say, "Oh," and laugh when she realized what was said.

Though much of the criticism surrounding the handling of Epstein's case has fallen on the Justice Department and Attorney General Pam Bondi, the FBI — led by Patel — has also been scrutinized amid longstanding calls for transparency.

Patel and Noem's appearance at the F1 Grand Prix comes days after President Donald Trump signed a bill — passed 427-1 in the House, and advanced unanimously in the Senate — to release remaining files related to Epstein's crimes.

The Epstein Files Transparency Act directs the Justice Department to publish "all unclassified records, documents, communications, and investigative materials in DOJ's possession that relate to the investigation and prosecution of Jeffrey Epstein," according to an official House summary.

Under the act, the Justice Department is not required to release all information related to Epstein's crimes: information that is classified, would identify victims, or interfere with a federal investigation can all be withheld. However, no information can be redacted or withheld "on the basis of embarrassment, reputational harm, or political sensitivity, including to any government official, public figure, or foreign dignitary."

Information released from the files would include anything related to Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell, along with flight logs, travel records, and "individuals named or referenced (including government officials)" connected to Epstein's case, per the bill's summary.

Trump signed the legislation on Nov. 19, after he made a shocking reversal in stance and encouraged House Republicans to vote for the files' release. By the time he changed his position, the bill was seemingly already on track to pass with bipartisan support.

The act gave the Justice Department 30 days from the time of Trump's signature to release the files. While speaking to reporters on Nov. 19, Bondi said she plans to honor the deadline.

"We will continue to follow the law, again, while protecting victims, but also providing maximum transparency," she said.

As Patel faces scrutiny for the FBI's role in the Epstein files' release, he also has taken heat for his apparent personal use of government resources: particularly, assigning SWAT team members as security for his girlfriend, country singer Alexis Wilkins, as well as using a government plane for personal matters.

The New York Times reported that resources have been diverted from the SWAT team to Wilkins several times in recent months. The use of agents with specialized and high-risk duties in this way is highly unusual, the outlet reported, citing both current and former FBI officials.

According to MS NOW (formerly MSNBC), which cited two people "with direct knowledge" of the situation, Wilkins' security detail is made up of elite agents who typically work out of Nashville's FBI field office, prompting concerns that their assignment may delay law enforcement response to emergency situations in the region.

“This is a clear abuse of position and misuse of government resources," former FBI agent Christopher O’Leary said on MS NOW, highlighting that Wilkins "is not his spouse" and “does not live in the same house or even the same city.” (The couple, who met in Nashville, do not live together — Patel’s legal residence is in Las Vegas, though he travels to Washington, D.C., often for work, according to MS NOW.)

The FBI commented on Wilkins’ security protections in a statement obtained by the network.

“Ms. Wilkins is receiving a protective detail because she has faced hundreds of credible death threats related to her relationship with Director Patel, whom she has been dating for three years,” the agency said. “Out of respect for her safety, we will not be providing additional details.”

Criticism of Wilkins’ security detail came after Patel had already been called out for using a government-owned plane to fly to see the country singer — despite previously slamming his predecessor Christopher Wray's use of private jets.

In October, Patel reportedly used a $60 million jet owned by the FBI to travel to State College, Pa., where Wilkins performed the national anthem at a wrestling event at Penn State University's Bryce Jordan Center, according to The Daily Beast and The New Republic.

He has also used a government jet for other recreational travel, including a golf trip to Scotland over the summer, according to the Times.

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Patel responded to what he described as "baseless rumors or the noise from uninformed internet anarchists and the fake news," in a X post on Nov. 2, though he did not specifically address his private jet usage.

In the same post, he also defended Wilkins, whom he said was the subject of "disgustingly baseless attacks," as a "true patriot and the woman I'm proud to call my partner in life.