FBI Director Kash Patel defended the agency’s Most Wanted fugitive statistics against mounting criticism, portraying the scrutiny as an effort to discredit front-line agents. He cited the sharp increases in arrests, weapons seizures and fentanyl seizures during the recently completed “Operation Summer Heat 2.0” as evidence of a more field-focused FBI.
Patel rejected reports that the FBI manipulated its Most Wanted captures, calling them attempts to “denigrate the work of the bureau.” He said career officials—not political appointees—independently oversee the list.
In September, Patel announced that the FBI had captured all 10 people on its Most Wanted list during President Donald Trump’s second term. On Wednesday, an MSNOW report published in May resurfaced, alleging that FBI officials had placed some fugitives on the list shortly before their expected arrests.
“Look, it’s really simple,” Patel told News Media. “The FBI’s Most Wanted list and any other campaign we’re putting on has been going on for at least 75 years. The career staff at the bureau manage that list. They look and say, ‘Who’s the target of opportunity? Who can we get? Who’s the worst perpetrator who’s been on the run?’ and then they announce it. I literally don’t have anything to do with it.”
Federal authorities said Operation Summer Heat 2.0 resulted in more than 8,900 arrests, along with the seizure of thousands of weapons and hundreds of fentanyl shipments. (FBI)
“I just think that those critics out there are super unpleased with the fact that the Trump administration and this FBI delivered on what used to be an apolitical mission of keeping law enforcement at the top and protecting our American citizens,” he said.
Patel credited the FBI’s recent high-profile arrests, record fentanyl seizures and weapons recoveries to a broad reorganization. The changes permanently moved nearly 2,000 FBI employees to field offices nationwide while significantly reducing the agency’s Washington bureaucracy.
According to Patel, the FBI has moved beyond temporary crime “surges” and adopted a permanent, field-centered enforcement strategy intended to reduce violent crime throughout the year.
FBI Director Kash Patel outlined the results of Operation Summer Heat 2.0, a 95-day law enforcement campaign targeting street gangs, traffickers and other criminals nationwide as part of an effort to reduce violent crime. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images; Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
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Operation Summer Heat 2.0 was the second campaign to use the name after the initiative began in 2025. The nationwide federal operation focused on violent crime, street gangs and drug-trafficking networks, with FBI agents working alongside local authorities in metropolitan areas from June through August.
“You have to talk to the American people. You have to show up in the field and you have to drive resources and permanently place people and technology in the field,” Patel said. “That was the sort of overarching approach to striking at the heart of violent crime.”
Authorities made more than 8,900 arrests during the operation, a 3% increase over last summer’s Summer Heat initiative.
The FBI also reported seizing 5,013 weapons, a 120% increase from last year. More than 1,400 children were identified or located, up 34%, while authorities carried out 687 fentanyl seizures, a 63% increase.
FBI Director Kash Patel speaks while President Donald Trump looks on during a press conference in the White House Oval Office on Oct. 15, 2025, in Washington, D.C. Trump and Patel discussed the administration’s progress in reducing violent crime. (Getty Images)
“So from last year to this year, we wanted to run that playbook for Summer Heat 2.0, and the only thing we did a little differently was we added even more bodies to the field,” Patel said. “So the enterprise-wide lift, shift, focus, and pivot was: we’re not on defense anymore. In order to catch violent criminals and defend the homeland, you have to go on offense.”
Patel said this year’s operation built on the previous campaign through expanded cooperation among agencies and other enforcement measures, producing what he described as significant public-safety gains in urban areas.
“Just to show you that it’s working in every single city and major metropolis across the country, last year for the first time, America saw 1.1 million fewer violent aggravated assaults, rapes, robberies, and homicides,” Patel said. “That’s 1.1 million fewer victims across the country because of what the federal government, the Bureau, and our partners were able to bring to bear across the country.”