Kash Patel posts FBI promo video with apparent uncredited movie scenes
FBI Director Kash Patel on Monday posted a two-minute-long video on X and wrote that the law enforcement agency he leads is “conducting the most aggressive violent crimes against children takedowns in United States history – and we’re not slowing down.”
Less than 10 seconds into that video, a young person can be seen lying on the ground with tape over their mouth. A second later, another scene appears showing a person on the ground as another person walks away from them. And at about the 1:45 mark, a child is escorted down stairs by an adult, which is seen through a rain-covered windshield of a car with a crucifix hanging from the rearview mirror.
Each of these snippets in the FBI video bears a striking resemblance to the 2013 movie “Prisoners,” according to a Straight Arrow review. The movie starred Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Viola Davis. According to its entry in IMDB, the movie is about a father who “takes the law into his own hands after police fail to find two kidnapped girls.” The father kidnaps and tortures a man whom he falsely believes had harmed his family.
The video, which includes clips of Patel speaking and ends with the FBI logo appearing on screen, also includes several news clips showing people being arrested.
An email sent to the FBI press office seeking comment was not immediately returned. Representatives for Warner Bros. Entertainment were also non-responsive to requests for comment. In the age of AI, it’s become nearly impossible to discern cinema from a digital recreation. Without FBI or Warner Brothers’ confirmation, Straight Arrow can only point out the striking similarities.
The incident comes about a month after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth delivered a prayer based on a fictitious bible verse featured in the movie “Pulp Fiction.”
The first apparently uncredited movie clip is seen less than 10 seconds into the video, showing a young person lying on their back with tape over their mouth. As that scene appears, an announcer says, “We owe it to them to protect them from our own citizens who [are] going out and harming them.”
That scene appears to depict actress Kyla-Drew, who played Joy Birch in the movie. A picture from the movie can be seen on the movie database website IMDB.
Immediately after that scene is another in which a person with a red blanket is seen lying on the ground while another person stands over them, then walks away. In the background is a distinct scene with rays of light shining through gaps in planks of wood; on another wall, several white dots are visible.
A video with a similar background and composition — person on the ground, one person walking away from the camera — appears on the website DailyMotion.com, which says the clip was posted 8 years ago.
One of the more dramatic moments in the video posted by Patel appears at around the 15-second mark, where two kids run through a sun-drenched doorway, followed by a larger person in a dark rain jacket. One of the children is wearing a light top with a red stripe above it.
That top resembles the one worn by actress Kyla-Drew’s character, as seen in this trailer screenshot.
At around the 37-second mark, a male narrator says, “This federal investigation called Operation Grayskull that shut down four of the largest child abuse websites on the dark web.”
As the narrator says, “shut down four of the largest,” a scene of several police cars with their lights on appears on screen, behind text that says “Operation Grayskull Jul, 2025.”
The cars are partially obscured by trees, and a large green billboard is visible above the cars.
There’s a strikingly similar clip — police cars, trees, green billboard — in the trailer for the movie “Prisoners.”
At around the 42-second mark, a female voice is heard saying, “So far, they’ve identified more than 40,000 of these kids.” As she begins speaking, viewers see a close-up shot of dozens of white candles on the ground, with what appear to be lights lining a house in the distance, out of focus in the background. The scene evokes a candle vigil.
A nearly identical scene — candles in the foreground, lights lining a house in the distance, out of focus — can be seen in the movie Prisoners, according to a picture posted on IMDB.
And at around the 1:45 mark, a child is seen being escorted down a set of stairs outside a house, as seen through a car’s windshield, which is covered with rain. The child and adult are out of focus, and a crucifix, in focus, hangs from the review mirror.
A scene that matches that almost perfectly appears in the movie “Prisoners,” according to a picture posted on IMDB.
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
