Hackers breached FBI Director Kash Patel’s emails prior to tenure as director: Sources
Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Kash Patel testifies during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on worldwide threats in the Hart Senate Office Building on March 18, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — Hackers breached FBI Director Kash Patel’s personal email, according to sources familiar with the situation.
The majority of the emails were from prior to 2019, according to sources, and appear to be from before his tenure at the FBI. There were a few emails from 2022, sources told ABC News.
“The FBI is aware of malicious actors targeting Director Patel’s personal email information, and we have taken all necessary steps to mitigate potential risks associated with this activity. The information in question is historical in nature and involves no government information,” the FBI said in a statement Friday.
It is unclear which country hacked the director’s old emails, however, Iranian-linked hackers online have claimed credit for the hack.
“The Department of State’s Rewards for Justice program offers up to a $10 million reward for information leading to the identification of the Handala Hack Team out of Iran — a group that has frequently targeted U.S. government officials,” the FBI said.
Reuters was the first to report the breach.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
In this June 2, 2019, file photo, a sign marking the spot of the Stonewall National monument is shown in Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York. (Epics via Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — The National Parks Service (NPS) removed the rainbow flag that sat on a flagpole inside the Stonewall National Monument near Christopher Park in New York City’s Greenwich Village.
The site was designated a national monument by President Barack Obama in June, 2016, becoming the first federal monument dedicated to LGBTQ+ rights.
The communications office for NPS, which is overseen by the Department of the Interior, confirmed the removal of the rainbow flag in a statement to ABC News on Tuesday morning. It said that, under federal guidance, “only the U.S. flag and other congressionally or departmentally authorized flags are flown on NPS-managed flagpoles, with limited exceptions.”
“Any changes to flag displays are made to ensure consistency with that guidance. Stonewall National Monument continues to preserve and interpret the site’s historic significance through exhibits and programs,” the statement continued.
The office of Interior Sec. Doug Burgum reiterated the sentiment in a statement to ABC News on Tuesday, saying that federal policy governing flag displays “has been in place for decades,” and “recent guidance clarifies how that longstanding policy is applied consistently across NPS-managed sites.”
The pride flag inside the monument was permanently installed by NPS in 2021, and was the first pride flag to be flown over federally-funded land.
Steven Love Menendez, a New York-based advocate for LGBTQ+ rights who launched the movement for the permanent pride flag to be installed at the site in 2017, questioned the timing of its removal.
“It’s a targeted attack on the community, right? Because the flag was there. It’s not that they never gave permission for it to be erected. They did give permission for it to be erected, and now they’re using some legal language to try to make an excuse for taking it down,” Menendez said. “Why now? That’s the question the administration needs to answer. Why now? It was already up, and my response is, it’s solely based on hate.”
The Stonewall National Monument is located near the Stonewall Inn, a historic gay bar in the neighborhood that was a safe haven for many in the LGBTQ+ community in the 1960s. The bar was raided by the NYPD in 1969, leading to riots that became known as the Stonewall Uprising, which is credited with kickstarting the modern LGBTQ+ movement. The NYPD publicly apologized for the raid in 2019.
“Stonewall will be our first national monument to tell the story of the struggle for LGBT rights. I believe our national parks should reflect the full story of our country, the richness and diversity and uniquely American spirit that has always defined us. That we are stronger together. That out of many, we are one,” Obama said in 2016.
Menendez said that, during Pride Month in 2017, he got a permit from NPS to install a pride flag inside the monument and his request was granted. Once the month was over, he noted that the flag was taken down. Menendez said he was “very passionate” about people being able to see the pride flag when they visited the monument, so he petitioned NPS in 2017 for the installation of a permanent flag.
According to ABC station in New York City, WABC, NPS was expected to participate in a dedication ceremony for a permanent rainbow flag inside the monument on National Coming Out Day on Oct. 11, 2017. But amid opposition from the Trump administration, NPS withdrew from the ceremony — a move that drew widespread criticism from LGBTQ+ advocates, WABC reported.
At the dedication ceremony, the city of New York flew their own rainbow flag on city land outside the Stonewall National Monument and it wasn’t until 2021 when the Biden administration approved the permanent installation of a pride flag inside the monument on federal land. The city flag has remained in place, but the flag on federal land was removed by NPS this week.
“For me, [the rainbow flag] is a sense of pride and joy and celebration and victory for our community. … This flag represents our victory and our triumphs,” Menendez, who attended the 2017 ceremony, told ABC News on Tuesday. “[Removing] it feels like a slap in the face to the community, you know, a punch in the gut. They’re taking away our symbol of pride.”
The removal of the flag comes after President Donald Trump directed Sec. Burgum in a March 2025 executive order to remove “divisive” and “anti-American” content from museums and national parks.
Asked if the removal of the pride flag was in response to Trump’s order, NPS did not comment.
(CHICAGO) — Two police officers were shot at a hospital in Chicago on Saturday morning and one was in critical condition as the medical facility went on lockdown, local officials said.
The shooting was reported at around 11:00 a.m. local time at Endeavor Health Swedish Hospital, according to the hospital.
The unidentified suspect is now in custody, according to Alderperson Andre Vasquez of Chicago’s 40th Ward.
“Please shelter in place if you are in the surrounding area or avoid the area,” he said in a social media post
Vasquez said that one of the officers was in critical condition.
The hospital said there was no “active threat” within the hospital and patients and staff are safe.
“The campus is currently closed while law enforcement leads their investigation,” the hospital said.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Journalist Don Lemon arrives with his legal team for an arraignment hearing at the Warren E. Burger Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse on February 13, 2026 in St. Paul, Minnesota. (Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)
(ST. PAUL, Minn.) — Former CNN journalist Don Lemon pleaded not guilty on Friday to federal civil rights charges in connection with an incident in which anti-ICE protesters disrupted a service at a Minnesota church.
Lemon appeared in federal court in St. Paul before Magistrate Judge Douglas Micko, following his arrest in Los Angeles last month.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
