Fbi Didn’t Deploy Undercover Agents On Jan. 6, Watchdog Report Finds, Undercutting Conspiracy Theories

A Justice Department watchdog found no evidence that the FBI deployed undercover agents to the Capitol or nearby protests on Jan. 6, 2021, further undercutting debunked conspiracy theories about the riot being instigated by law enforcement.

The long-awaited report from Inspector General Michael Horowitz also found no evidence that the bureau authorized or encouraged any illegal behavior by members of the mob who stormed the Capitol that day.

The report throws cold water on theories that have become gospel among some segments of Donald Trump’s supporters, who have accused the FBI of fomenting violence on Jan. 6 in order to entrap Trump supporters.

Horowitz also found that among the tens of thousands of Trump supporters who flooded Washington that day, 26 were people who had served as informants for the FBI. Those informants — known as “confidential human sources” or CHSs — are not government employees but occasionally provide intelligence to the bureau.

Of those 26 informants, only three had been specifically tasked by the FBI to track individuals they suspected of potential domestic terrorism activity. The other 23 informants attended Jan. 6 events “on their own initiative” and were not tasked with any activities by the FBI, the report said. Some of them proactively contacted the FBI amid the riot to report potential crimes.

Just four of the 26 informants went into the Capitol, and nine others trespassed on Capitol grounds, Horowitz found. Importantly, the inspector general indicated that no FBI sources 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,” Horowitz found.

In fact, the inspector general said the FBI should have done more to canvass its sources in advance of Jan. 6 to try to understand the potential for violence that ultimately erupted that day. The FBI failed to thoroughly canvass its informants ahead of Jan. 6, a tactical mistake that Horowitz said prevented the bureau from having a clearer picture of the potential for violence.

Horowitz also catalogued some of the tips that confidential human sources had provided in advance of Jan. 6 about the increasingly menacing preparation of leaders of far-right groups like the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys.

The report also found that in a statement to Congress, the FBI falsely claimed to have queried all its field offices in advance of Jan. 6 about possible threats to the proceedings that day. The misstatement to lawmakers was not intentional, the report found.

Horowitz indicated his review had been delayed from the spring of 2022 until last year to ensure it “did not conflict with or compromise any ongoing DOJ criminal investigations or prosecutions.”