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There were no undercover FBI agents on the National Mall on January 6, 2021, as then-President Trump encouraged his supporters march to the Capitol, according to the Department of Justice’s Office of Inspector General (DOJ), refuting a conspiracy theory around the events of the day.
“We found no evidence in the materials we reviewed or in the testimony we received that showed or suggested that the FBI had undercover employees at the various protest crowds, or at the Capitol, on January 6,” he concluded. ‘general inspector in a 88 page report reviewing the office response.
The finding rejects theories that undercover FBI agents staged the attack on the Capitol, which has since led to charges for more than 1,500 figures involved in the riot.
The report found that some of the FBI’s Confidential Human Sources (CHS) were present in the crowds, including three who were tasked with monitoring domestic terrorism subjects.
“None of these FBI CHS was authorized to enter the Capitol or a restricted area, nor to break the law on January 6, nor did the FBI order any CHS to encourage others to commit illegal acts on January 6,” the report notes. .
Beyond the three sources who coordinated with the office, the inspector general found that 23 other confidential human sources came to DC in connection with the rally, of which four entered the Capitol and another 13 entered in the restricted security perimeter established around the building.
“None of the CHS who entered the Capitol or a restricted area have been prosecuted to date,” the report concluded.
After the attack, claims emerged that undercover FBI agents in the crowd encouraged the attack. The claims align with other conspiracy theories that shift blame for the riots, including false claims that the attack was carried out by Antifa.
The conspiracy theory backlash comes amid a broader review of how the FBI handled its intelligence gathering before the Capitol attack, with the report blaming the bureau for not push field offices to collect more information from informants before the demonstration.
“Despite playing only a support role, the FBI recognized the potential for violence and took significant and appropriate steps to prepare for that support role, including attempting to identify known domestic terrorism subjects who planned to travel to DC to to the Jan. 6 Election Certification” and establish a command post to coordinate intelligence sharing with other agencies, according to the report.
But the report found that the office did not reach out to its offices across the country to see what their confidential sources were saying about the planned demonstration.
“While the FBI made significant efforts to identify domestic terrorism subjects who planned to travel to the Capital Region on January 6th … we also determined that the FBI did not take any steps that could have assisted the FBI and its law enforcement partners with their preparations in advance of January 6. Specifically, the FBI did not consult its field offices before January 6, 2021 to identify any intelligence. , included the CHS reports, on possible threats to the January 6 Electoral Certification,” the report found.
In In a statement responding to the report, the FBI defended its preparations.
“While the FBI continues to disagree with some of the Report’s factual assertions regarding the manner in which specific steps were taken and the scope of the investigation conducted by the FBI prior to January 6, 2021, time period during which the Report recognizes as including several field offices providing information in response to the directions of the Washington field office and FBI headquarters, the FBI nevertheless accepts the recommendation from the OIG regarding potential process improvements for future events,” the agency said.
They added that the office is “nevertheless committed to evaluating our policies and procedures” for actions taken before major events.
Updated at 2:18 p.m
