In an article for The Daily Beast published Thursday, David Gardner, the outlet's chief national correspondent, argued that the failure of the FBI’s response in the wake of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk's killing indicated that the bureau was ill-prepared and operating more like bumbling amateurs than a top‐tier law enforcement agency.
He noted the delay and opacity around releasing the suspect’s image, highlighting one specific misstep: Although the FBI had been directed under its current leadership to prioritize street crime and illegal immigration over political violence, the shooting brought that shift into harsh relief.
"The implication of failure was clear," he wrote.
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Gardner noted that a man was killed and the event was streamed live; a video camera “tower” less than 200 yards from where the victim sat captured footage of the suspect almost immediately. Yet the bureau took a full day to locate that footage and release it.
Initially they claimed to have the picture but refused to make it public, saying they would try to identify the suspect themselves, and only changed course hours later. By then, Gardner points out, it was too late.
Gardner’s core critique is that these delays and bureaucratic missteps were not just minor errors, but symptomatic of a deeper failure: a failure of vigilance, priorities, and procedure.
He further argued that in an era when political violence has been steadily growing, the FBI should — but appears not to — treat such risks with urgency. He added that the FBI’s reluctance to publicly share vital evidence, combined with an internal directive that downplays political violence, enabled the breakdown in this case.
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Click here to read Gardner's full article in the Daily Beast (subscription required).