FBI director Kash Patel’s girlfriend sues podcaster for $5 million over ‘wordless’ retweet

Alexis Wilkins, a country music singer and girlfriend of FBI director Kash Patel, has filed a $5 million defamation lawsuit against conservative podcaster Elijah Schaffer, alleging that his “wordless” post on X falsely implied she was an Israeli spy. Kash Patel and Alexis Wilkins have been together for over two years.(File) According to news site The Noticer, the lawsuit, filed on October 28 in the US Drict Court for the Southern Drict of Florida, accuses Schaffer of exploiting Wilkins’ relationship with Patel to drive online engagement. Wilkins is seeking “compensatory, special, and punitive damages in the sum of $5,000,000 or such greater amount as determined the jury.” Wilkins’ lawsuit against SchafferThe dispute stems from a September 14 post on X, in which Schaffer retweeted a thread X user Hen Mazzig describing Mossad’s use of female agents who “seduced high-ranking enemy officials”. Schaffer retweeted the post with no caption but attached a photo of Wilkins and Patel together at a formal event. The post quickly went viral, garnering millions of views and thousands of reposts. The lawsuit argues that, in the context of circulating online rumours labelling Wilkins a “honeypot” operative, the retweet effectively accused her of seducing Patel to compromise US national security. “While Defendant may not have included any caption to spell out the meaning of his post, he didn’t have to,” the complaint states, adding that the insinuation exposed Wilkins to harassment and threats. Wilkins’ legal team claims Schaffer acted with “actual malice,” motivated his criticism of Israeli influence in US policy and personal disdain for Patel. Now to succeed, Wilkins must prove under the Supreme Court’s 1964 New York Times Co. v. Sullivan standard that Schaffer either knew his implication was false or acted with reckless disregard for the truth. Florida courts, however, have often extended broad protection to online speech, including retweets, interpreting them as sharing rather than endorsement. Schaffer has not publicly commented on the lawsuit. (Also Read: FBI Director Kash Patel faces heat for ‘hit a cop’ comment: ‘Remember January 6?’) Wilkins sues ex-FBI agent for defamationNotably, this is Wilkins’ second defamation suit this year. In August, she sued former FBI agent and podcaster Kyle Seraphin for $5 million in Texas, alleging he referenced her as a “former Mossad agent” involved in a “honeypot” scheme targeting Patel. Seraphin, however, has denied wrongdoing, calling his remarks satire, and has moved to dismiss the case. Wilkins, 27, is a Nashville-based country art and conservative commentator. She and Patel have been together for over two years, having met at an event in 2023, well before Patel was appointed FBI Director in February 2025.