FBI Director Kash Patel took a quick stop in Happy Valley after public flight records show a government-registered jet was used for a personal trip to Penn State to watch his girlfriend perform at the Bryce Jordan Center.

Patel, 45, was seen alongside country singer Alexis Wilkins, 26, in a photograph uploaded to her social media. Wilkins sang during the “Real American Freestyle” wrestling event, which was held on Saturday.

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Flight logs for tail number N708JH reveal the FBI’s Gulfstream V jet landed at State College Regional Airport at approximately 5:40 p.m. from Manassas Regional Airport in northern Virginia.

Following the event, Patel departed State College at 8:03 p.m. on a 1-hour, 25-minute flight to Nashville, Tennessee, where Watkins lives.

Patel is facing some backlash for the trip during the government shutdown. As FBI director, Patel is required to use government aircraft for official travel to ensure secure communications and protection. According to Expedia, a commercial flight from State College to Nashville costs about $239.

While the director must reimburse the government for the equivalent of a commercial fare when using federal planes for personal travel, taxpayers cover the additional expenses — including operating costs, maintenance, and fuel, which exceed the price of a ticket.

The trip was first reported on The Kyle Seraphin Show on Monday. Seraphin is a conservative, former FBI agent who has been critical of Patel’s leadership.

“We’re in the middle of a government shutdown where they’re not even gonna pay all of the employees that work for the agency that this guy heads,” said Seraphin. “And this guy is jetting off to hang out with his girlfriend in Nashville on our dime?

Seraphin got his start in the bureau in 2016, working in surveillance and counterintelligence. He worked in several field offices before being suspended in 2022 after publicly criticizing FBI leadership.

Before Patel was appointed, he was critical of how former FBI director Chris Wray used the government aircraft.

In 2023, Patel condemned Wray on Truth Social, “jetting off out on taxpayer dollars while dodging accountability for the implosion of the FBI on his watch.”