FBI informants were present at Capitol riots, but not agents, watchdog says.
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More than two dozen FBI informants were present in Washington, D.C., before the riots at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, but no full-time undercover agents were present or involved in the riots themselves, according to a new report from the Department of Justice.
The report said that none of the agency's informants were allowed to enter the Capitol or join the riot, but four did enter the building.
The report also found that the FBI failed in the "fundamental step" of properly utilizing its field offices across the United States to gather information that could have predicted the riots.
Some on the right, including House Republicans, have for years promoted a conspiracy theory that the FBI helped orchestrate the riots.
On the day of the riots, a mob stormed the Capitol as the 2020 presidential election was being certified. Hundreds of people have been arrested and charged for their involvement.
President-elect Donald Trump has promised to pardon "the vast majority" of the January 6 protesters convicted when he returns to the White House in January.
'A man of his word': January 6 rioters expect Trump to keep his pardon promise
The report, from the Justice Department's Office of Inspector General, found that 26 "confidential human resources" – or paid informants – were in Washington on the day of the riots.
Three of them were tasked with gathering information on domestic terrorism cases and may have gone to the January 6 protests, with one entering the Capitol building.
The other 23 had not received orders to go to the area and did so on their own initiative. At the time, some were in contact with or traveling with members of far-right groups, including the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers.
Of the 26 people, four confidential sources entered the Capitol during the riots. Thirteen others entered the restricted area around the Capitol—a security perimeter set up in anticipation of the certification of the January 6 election.
None of the confidential sources who entered the Capitol or the surrounding area were among those charged with wrongdoing.
Confidential sources are different from full-time, trained undercover agents. The Justice Department defines these sources as those "credited with providing useful and reliable information to the FBI" who deserve to be treated confidentially.
After the riots, the FBI came under scrutiny from lawmakers who questioned its use of informants and wondered whether more could have been done to gather information and prevent the riots from happening.
Although the report by Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz determined that the FBI identified the potential for violence that day and took "appropriate" action, it missed a "fundamental step" by not investigating its agents in the field to obtain intelligence on possible incidents.
This step, in turn, "could have assisted the FBI and its law enforcement partners in their preparations" before the riots.
Approximately 1,572 people have been criminally charged in federal court for their participation in the riots. That figure includes about 600 people charged with assault, resisting or obstructing law enforcement, and 171 people charged with using a deadly or dangerous weapon.
Trump — who has called the rioters "patriots" and "political prisoners" — said in a recent interview that he would "move very quickly" to pardon the "vast majority" of those involved in the unrest.
Despite the president-elect's pledge, the Justice Department has continued to arrest and charge riot suspects in recent weeks.
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