The FBI had more than two dozen informants in Washington surrounding the chaos of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, and four of them entered the building as part of the protests, an inspector general said Thursday.
Thirteen other informants were part of the mob that broke onto the Capitol grounds and breached restricted space, but they didn’t enter the building, investigators said.
None has been prosecuted.
The investigation found no evidence that undercover FBI employees were part of the protests.
All told, 13 FBI informants, or confidential human sources in FBI jargon, breached the restricted space around the Capitol. Another 13 informants were in Washington connected with the election-related protests but did not intrude on the Capitol.
“None of these FBI CHSs were authorized to enter the Capitol or a restricted area, or to otherwise break the law on January 6, nor was any CHS directed by the FBI to encourage others to commit illegal acts on January 6,” the investigation concluded.
The FBI had a side role with local law enforcement agencies and the U.S. Capitol Police taking the lead. The idea of FBI employees helping foment the violence has taken hold in some conservative circles.
The bureau had repeatedly denied that.
“This notion that somehow the violence at the Capitol on Jan. 6 was part of some operation orchestrated by FBI sources and agents is ludicrous and is a disservice to our brave, hardworking, dedicated men and women,” FBI Director Christopher A. Wray told Congress last year.
He refused to say whether informants were used.
The Washington Times first reported in July 2023 that an FBI whistleblower told Congress that at least 25 informants were used surrounding the protests, but they were not to be publicly acknowledged.
According to the whistleblower disclosure, FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate said their existence was embarrassing.
The inspector general said the informants provided general information about the brewing sense of unrest among what one termed “normal conservatives” amid questions about the outcome of the 2020 presidential election.
Some informants were assigned to report on the activities of the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys. The FBI investigates these right-wing, anti-government groups as potential domestic terrorists.
The inspector general concluded that the FBI failed to share and follow up on some information.
The FBI hailed the findings that none of its undercover employees participated in the protests. The bureau said it did “disagree” with some of the conclusions about the scope of informant activities.
The FBI agreed with the inspector general’s recommendation to better assess future events for domestic terrorism concerns.
The inspector general said that informants were keeping tabs on some actors well before Jan. 6. That included reporting on activities of the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys.
Of the 26 informants who traveled to Washington on Jan. 6, two were deployed by the FBI specifically to keep tabs on subjects of domestic terrorism investigations. Another was heading to the nation’s capital on their initiative when the FBI assigned them to report on a domestic terrorism subject.
One of those three did enter the Capitol, and two others breached the restricted space.
All told, four informants were in the Capitol and nine others in the restricted space but not in the Capitol.
The Justice Department has been zealous in pursuing Jan. 6 participants but hasn’t charged any informants.
When asked by the inspector general, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia offered this explanation: “The D.C. U.S. Attorney’s Office generally has not charged those individuals whose only crime on January 6, 2021, was to enter the restricted grounds surrounding the Capitol, which has resulted in the Office declining to charge hundreds of individuals; and we have treated the CHSs consistent with this approach.”
That does not appear to cover the four informants who breached the Capitol.
The U.S. attorney’s office declined to comment beyond its statement in the report.
• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.
• Kerry Picket can be reached at kpicket@washingtontimes.com.
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