Expected on stage at the invitation-only 250th anniversary party for the United States in Brussels: FBI chief Kash Patel's country-singer girlfriend Alexis Wilkins.
Wilkins is an American ultraconservative who was dating Patel before his selection by Donald Trump to lead the FBI law enforcement agency in the president’s second term.
Since Patel’s appointment, the couple have been under intense scrutiny for how he has handled aspects of his relationship with Wilkins, and Wilkins’s anticipated presence in Brussels could bring more unwanted attention to an extravaganza that involves several thousand invitees, fireworks, and a scheduled performance by disco funk legends Nile Rodgers and Chic.
Party in the park
Brussels locals already are upset at the expected sealing off of a large part of Cinquantenaire Park, located next to EU headquarters, ahead of the event. Extinction Rebellion Belgium, a civil disobedience movement, said last month that a foreign state "appropriating" the space is unprecedented.
Brussels Mayor Philippe Close (PS) has insisted that allowing the event is "not an endorsement of Trump's policies”.
Patel, an attorney and former conspiracy-prone podcaster before taking over the law enforcement agency, will not be in attendance at the party, according to a senior FBI official, despite rumours otherwise.
A US embassy spokesperson declined to comment on Wilkins but said that guests would “enjoy a range of activities in a festival setting followed by the formal program” including remarks from US and Belgian leaders and “an exciting musical performance”.
Many of the musicians booked to perform at a separate Freedom 250 concert series on the National Mall in Washington, DC, in June and July have cancelled their appearances in recent days.
Young MC, a rapper, cited the event’s “political involvement” for his decision while country singer Martina McBride said the event’s nonpartisan billing “turned out to be misleading”.
Funk soul giants The Commodores pulled out, saying they “choose not to publicly affiliate with any single political party” and “support the betterment of all Americans”.
Asked on Monday about whether the Freedom 250 programme in Brussels would go ahead as expected, including Rodgers and Chic, the US embassy spokesperson had no immediate additional response.
'American pride, American made'
Wilkins has sung the US national anthem at sports events and conservative meetings in recent years.
Her own songs are fiercely pro-American, with lyrics like "American pride, American made" that could hit a discordant note at an event partly funded by European companies, including Belgian brewing colossus AB InBev.
In a post to Truth Social four years ago, Wilkins indulged in what appear to be conspiracy theories about Russia, Bitcoin, and Covid-19.
She has also taken a staunchly MAGA-aligned view of the Ukraine conflict, using language like "Ukraine dictator" to describe President Volodymyr Zelensky in a 2024 video podcast on the platform Rumble.
Wilkins’s characterisation of Zelensky is directly at odds with the position of the European Union, which is headquartered next to the park where the party will take place, and which is readying negotiations with Zelensky’s government that could see Ukraine eventually joining the bloc.
Wilkins describes herself as a friend of Bill White, the US Ambassador to Belgium who is leading the organisation for the party in Parc du Cinquantenaire on 28 June.
"More of the good guys," Wilkins wrote in late 2024 in another post to Truth Social when White was nominated by President Trump to become ambassador to Belgium.
Photos Wilkins posted to X show her arm around White and his spouse Bryan Eure at the hearing last year for White's confirmation in the job.
Asked if White had arranged for Wilkins to perform in Brussels, whether her appearance would be paid, and if the friendship between White and Wilkins extended to her partner, FBI Director Patel, the US embassy declined to comment.
Enhanced security
A media storm has arisen around Patel and Wilkins, partly as a result of the FBI director's use of government aircraft for excursions, including trips to see Wilkins.
There are also questions over Wilkins's FBI security detail that reportedly has included Special Weapons and Tactics agents. Such deployments are generally resource-intensive, and the protections for Wilkins appear to go beyond usual practice.
The FBI has previously said that Wilkins, who is originally from the Boston suburbs and attended a school in Switzerland before going to a Christian university in Tennessee, has faced hundreds of credible death threats justifying her protection.
Wilkins did not respond to an emailed request to comment.
Asked whether Wilkins would get similar protection on a trip to Brussels, the FBI declined to comment. But Todd Blanche, the acting US Attorney General, has responded to previous reporting about FBI protection for Wilkins.
"Security for those serving our nation is assessed based on threat level, and this extends to loved ones," Blanche wrote on X, adding that "protection is standard practice across all administrations and follows agency rules and protocol to ensure safety".
The 28 June party in Brussels is organised under the banner of Freedom 250, an entity established by the Trump administration that has largely overridden a separate nonpartisan initiative, America250, set up a decade ago to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on 4 July 1776.
