Washington, September 16, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
FBI Director Kash Patel told US lawmakers that the bureau had stopped 1,100 people from carrying out terrorist attacks on American soil and arrested 4,260 individuals linked to foreign terrorist organisations over the past 18 months.
Patel presented the figures during an oversight hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee, where he said arrests involving affiliates of foreign terrorist organisations had risen 38 per cent compared with the preceding 18-month period. The figures were part of Patel’s account of the FBI’s counterterrorism and criminal enforcement work.
Patel cited several recent operations, including the arrests of eight alleged extremists accused of planning to kill elected officials, military personnel and civilians at an event near the White House. He also referred to the arrest of five suspects in Michigan in what he described as the “Pumpkin Day plot”, alleging that they planned a bombing.
Patel said the FBI had also prevented four terrorist attacks during a single month last December in California, Texas, North Carolina and Pennsylvania. He further cited the arrest of a suspect accused of planning an Islamic State-inspired attack in Pittsburgh.
“These attacks did not happen because the FBI and our partners worked around the clock, found the threats, and stopped them,” Patel said, according to his remarks.
The FBI director also highlighted expanded biometric data-sharing arrangements with foreign governments, including facial recognition records, iris scans and other identifying information. He said the bureau had increased its use of artificial intelligence to process information, analyse intelligence and share material with local law enforcement.
According to Patel, FBI AI test cases increased from two to 140 during his tenure, while the bureau also cleared a backlog of 1.8 million DNA samples at its laboratory in Quantico, Virginia.
Patel said cooperation with foreign law enforcement agencies had resulted in 86 suspects being transferred to US custody and 157 others being extradited to the United States.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley highlighted FBI figures showing an 80 per cent increase in criminal arrests and a 90 per cent rise in violent-crime arrests over the preceding 18-month period.
Democratic lawmakers challenged Patel’s record and leadership. Committee Ranking Member Dick Durbin accused the FBI director of directing agency resources towards President Donald Trump’s political priorities. Durbin said he believed Patel’s leadership was reshaping the bureau in a politically driven manner, a characterisation disputed by Patel and the administration.
Patel is the first Indian-American to serve as FBI director.
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