A former Defense Department official who was subpoenaed last week by the select committee investigating the Jan. 6 riot by Trump supporters at the US Capitol has received racist death threats in recent days, The Post has learned.
Two messages were sent to Kash Patel from the same email address following Thursday’s subpoena announcement by committee chairman Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.).
The first message, sent on Saturday, referred to Patel as a “treasonous b—h,” as well as by the disparaging term “sand monkey.” It bore the all-caps subject line “GET THE F–K OUT OF OUR COUNTRY STINKING SAND MONKEY”.
“America is gonna chew you up and they’ll slice that f—king sand monkey neck of yours in prison on day ONE … The fact you are a f—–g sand monkey is the reason why those old white racist republicans [sic] are gonna serve you up nice right off the bat,” the email read, in part. “You are as worthless to them as you are to America.”
In the second message, sent Monday, the writer reiterated to Patel: “Looking forward to watching those old white racist republicans [sic] throw you [to] the wolves. You may think they think you’re white but to them you’re just a f—ing stinking sand n—-r. They always need a couple token n—-rs to use.
“We may even be able to execute you bastards, cut your f—ing head off the way they do in YOUR country,” the email concluded. “YOU ARE A TRAITOR AND WILL PAY.”
A spokeswoman for Patel told The Post late Monday that while he had received hate mail before — both during his time in the Trump administration and as senior counsel to the House Intelligence Committee under the chairmanship of Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) — this week’s messages were a new low in terms of violence and racial hatred.
“I’m not worried for me, but more for my family that they have to read and see this hatred,” Patel said in a statement Monday night. “My family, who fled racial persecution, can’t for the life of them imagine that this could happen here in the U.S.”
Patel, who was born to Indian parents who immigrated to America from East Africa and grew up in Queens and on Long Island, was serving as chief of staff to then-Acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller the day of the riot, which led to the deaths of five people.
In his letter to Patel, Thompson wrote that “there is substantial reason to believe that you have additional documents and information relevant to understanding the role played by the Department of Defense and the White House in preparing for and responding to the attack on the U.S. Capitol, as well as … your personal involvement in planning for events on January 6 and the peaceful transfer of power.”
The committee has given Patel until Oct. 7 to turn over documents related to their inquiry and has asked him to sit for a deposition Oct. 14. Patel has not indicated whether he will respond to the subpoena, saying only that “I will continue to tell the truth about my time in service.”
Meanwhile, Patel is raising money to pursue defamation lawsuits against Politico, CNN and the New York Times over stories written about him that date from his time in the Trump White House.
“For the last several months, I’ve been fighting against the defamation and malicious attacks propelled by the media,” Patel said in his statement Monday. “I will never stop fighting for America, and invite anyone who feels attacked or silenced, to reach out to the Kash Patel Legal Offense Trust and we will help to protect others from suffering what I have.”
Patel’s rep said that he was working with an attorney to pass the threatening messages along to authorities.