There were no undercover FBI agents on the mall on Jan. 6, 2021 as then-President Trump encouraged his supporters to march to the Capitol, according to the Justice Department’s Office of Inspector General, piercing a conspiracy theory surrounding the day’s events.
“We found no evidence in the materials we reviewed or the testimony we received showing or suggesting that the FBI had undercover employees in the various protest crowds, or at the Capitol, on January 6,” the Inspector General concluded in an 88-page report reviewing the bureau’s response.
The conclusion rejects theories that undercover FBI agents provoked the attack on the Capitol, which has since prompted charges for more than 1,000 figures involved in the riot.
The report did find that some of the FBI’s confidential human sources (CHSs) were present in the crowds, including three who were tasked with monitoring domestic terrorism subjects.
“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 report noted.
Beyond the three sources who coordinated with the bureau, the OIG found that 23 other confidential human sources came to D.C. in connection with the rally, of which four entered the Capitol and another 13 entered the restricted security perimeter set up around the building.
“None of the CHSs who entered the Capitol or a restricted area has been prosecuted to date,” the report concludes.
DEVELOPING
