(WASHINGTON) — A recent report from a government watchdog has revealed that the FBI could have been more proactive in gathering intelligence before the Capitol riot, even though some preparations were made for potential violence on January 6, 2021. The report highlighted that there were no undercover agents from the FBI on-site during the riot, and none of the agency’s informants had been authorized to take part in the events of that day.
This report, released by the Justice Department’s inspector general’s office, directly challenges a fringe conspiracy theory pushed by some Republican lawmakers that suggests the FBI played a role in inciting the riot. On that fateful day, rioters, driven by a determination to reverse Donald Trump’s 2020 election loss to Joe Biden, violently clashed with law enforcement as they stormed the Capitol.
Nearly four years have passed since this critical event in American history, which has tested the very foundations of democracy.
The investigation, while limited in scope, sought to clarify key questions about potential intelligence failures that led up to the riot and whether any individuals in the crowd were acting under the direction of the FBI. This inquiry is part of a broader series of investigations into the unprecedented events of that day, which have already resulted in congressional probes and various indictments at both federal and state levels.
The watchdog found that 26 FBI informants were present in Washington for protests related to the election on January 6. Interestingly, although three of them managed to enter restricted areas, they did so without authorization from the FBI, and they were not permitted to engage in illegal activities or incite others to break the law.
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The report indicated that while the FBI took appropriate measures to prepare for January 6, it did not conduct a thorough search of its 56 field offices nationwide for relevant intelligence.
The inspector general’s comprehensive review was launched just days after the riot, following a bulletin from the FBI’s Norfolk, Virginia, field office dated January 5, 2021, which alerted of the potential for “war” at the Capitol. The former head of the FBI’s Washington office stated that the information from this warning was swiftly communicated to other law enforcement agencies through a joint terrorism task force.
However, officials from the Capitol Police claimed they were unaware of this bulletin at the time and stated that they had no specific or credible intelligence suggesting that a protest at the Capitol would escalate into a large-scale assault on the building.
FBI Director Chris Wray, who has expressed plans to resign at the end of President Biden’s term in January, defended the agency’s handling of the intelligence report. Wray informed lawmakers in 2021 that the report was shared through the joint terrorism task force, discussed at a command post in Washington, and made accessible via an internet portal for other law enforcement agencies.
“We communicated that information in a timely manner to both the Capitol Police and the Metropolitan Police Department through multiple channels,” Wray asserted during that time.
The conspiracy theory suggesting that federal law enforcement officers incited the mob has gained traction among conservative circles, with some Republican lawmakers backing it. Recently, Rep. Clay Higgins, R-La., implied on a podcast that agents posing as Trump supporters were responsible for instigating the violence.
Former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., who withdrew as Trump’s pick for attorney general amid sex trafficking allegations, sent a letter to Wray in 2021 questioning the number of informants present at the Capitol on January 6 and whether they were “passive informants or active instigators.”
Previously, it was unclear how many FBI informants were in the crowd that day. Wray refrained from disclosing during a congressional hearing last year how many individuals who entered the Capitol and surrounding areas on January 6 were either FBI agents or had prior contact with the FBI. However, he firmly stated that the notion of the violence being part of an FBI operation is “ludicrous.”
During the trial of former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio last year, one FBI informant testified about marching to the Capitol with fellow members of the extremist group, detailing communication with his handler as the mob of Trump supporters advanced toward the building. Notably, this informant did not participate in the Telegram chats that the Proud Boys allegedly used to plan violence in the lead-up to January 6.
