Kash Patel’s decision to remove the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Salt Lake City division has drawn renewed scrutiny after the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk and the ensuing manhunt for his killer.
Mehtab Syed was pushed out of the top role in the Salt Lake City office in August, roughly one month before she would have overseen the bureau’s response to Wednesday’s shooting at Utah Valley University, according to reporting. Syed, who had been appointed to the post in February, retired rather than accept a reassignment to a lower-level position in Huntsville, Alabama, according to former colleagues and media accounts.
Syed had a long FBI career, including senior roles as head of cyberterrorism and counterterrorism in the Los Angeles field office, a section chief in counterintelligence at FBI headquarters and service as an assistant legal attaché in Pakistan during the U.S. fight against al-Qaida, according to former agents who worked with her and media reports. Christopher O’Leary, a former FBI agent and MSNBC national security contributor, told NBC News that Syed was “absolutely the best” and described her as a "legendary case agent" involved in major national security investigations.
Reporting indicates that Associate Deputy Director J. William Rivers informed Syed she was not a good fit for the Salt Lake City office. The reporting also identified Kash Patel as the official who removed her from the post; Patel is a senior official in the FBI leadership structure. Sources cited by the media said the specific reasons for Syed’s removal were not clear.
Syed’s departure comes as Utah authorities and federal investigators continue an urgent search for the person who fatally shot Kirk as he spoke at a Turning Point USA event on the Utah Valley University campus. Officials released images of the suspected sniper position on the Losee Building rooftop, roughly 200 yards from where Kirk was speaking, and of spent shell casings and a ladder reportedly used by the shooter to flee the scene.
Investigators recovered a Mauser .30-caliber bolt-action rifle hidden in a wooded area near the campus, wrapped in a towel, and found three additional rounds in the magazine, authorities said. The weapon and ammunition are undergoing forensic analysis at a federal laboratory. Officials also released an image of a person of interest wearing a black T-shirt with a bald eagle and American flag and announced a $100,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.
Authorities said two suspects initially detained in connection with the shooting were released after investigators determined they had not fired the fatal shot. A scheduled press briefing was abruptly canceled on Thursday, with the Utah Department of Public Safety citing "rapid developments in our investigation."
Officials said investigators had found engravings linked to "transgender and antifascist ideology" during the probe, and described this as part of the evidence being examined; authorities did not publicly link those discoveries to a clear motive for the killing.
The assassination has drawn national attention and political reaction. Vice President J.D. Vance traveled to Utah to meet with Kirk’s family and offered to have Kirk’s casket flown to his home aboard Air Force Two. Former President Donald Trump posted on his social platform that Kirk had died, calling him "legendary," and extended sympathies to the family.
Critics and some former FBI personnel have raised questions about the timing of Syed’s removal, saying her leadership experience made her suited to managing complex investigations. Supporters of the change have not publicly detailed the bureau’s internal rationale for the personnel move. The Justice Department and FBI typically do not comment on internal personnel matters, and bureau leadership has not provided public explanations for Syed’s reassignment and retirement.
As the manhunt continues, federal and local authorities said they were coordinating investigative and forensic work. Officials urged members of the public with relevant information to contact law enforcement and cautioned against speculation as investigators work to piece together the shooter’s identity, motive and route of escape.