An independent watchdog investigation found no evidence that federal agents were involved in promoting the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, according to a report released Thursday, undercutting years of baseless claims. far-right political figures those who have alleged that the FBI played a major role in the attack.
A long-awaited report by Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz found no evidence that undercover FBI agents were among thousands of Trump supporters. the building was attackedor even among the crowds of Trump supporters who went to protests around Washington DC that day.
While the report confirmed that there were 26 informants in Washington DC who were designated as “confidential human sources” or CHS within the FBI, Horowitz found no evidence that they were ordered to join the attack on the Capitol or otherwise encourage illegal activities. Trumpen aldeko mafiako kideak.
Additionally, the IG’s report found that three of the confidential informants were specifically instructed by FBI field offices to report on suspects in specific terrorist incidents that occurred on January 6, and one of them entered the Capitol during the riot. the same
Twenty-three others were in Washington but were not found to be warranted by FBI field offices, and of those 23, three entered the Capitol and 11 entered restricted areas around the building, the probe found.
The report found that none of the four whistleblowers who broke into the Capitol have been prosecuted so far by the U.S. District Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.
In a statement responding to the report’s findings, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said it generally “failed to charge those individuals whose only offense was trespassing into restricted areas around the Capitol on January 6, 2021, which has resulted in the Office declining to charge hundreds of individuals and CHS with this approach.” bat etorriz tratatu ditugu”.
While the FBI has come under serious scrutiny over the past four years for improperly preparing Congressional election certification and the possibility of an attack on the Capitol by Trump supporters, Horowitz’s report determined that the bureau “took significant and appropriate steps.” Progress on January 6″ as a supporting role that day.
The report also found that the FBI did not adequately screen all field offices for information about possible activity prior to the attack.
FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate called the lack of a canvass before January a “fundamental missed step” and told the inspector general’s office that he hoped a formal review of sources would take place.
The inspector general found that while the FBI did not intentionally mislead Congress about the shortage of field offices, they were inaccurate in their assessment.
In June 2023, Senate Democrats released a report which directly accused the FBI of “failing to raise the alarm and share critical information that could have helped law enforcement better prepare for the events of January 6.”
The report, which detailed tips and other online traffic before January 6, lawmakers said, provided clear indications that the FBI was aware that Trump supporters were planning violence to prevent President Biden’s 2020 victory certificate.
As of Jan. 6, the FBI had no “potentially critical intelligence” that had not been released to other law enforcement entities, the IG said in a new report released Thursday.
More than 1,500 people in nearly all 50 states they have been charged In connection with the January 6 attack on the US Capitol, from illegal attacks on the Capitol grounds to attacks on federal officials and seditious conspiracies.
Court proceedings over the past three years, including the sedition trial of members of the far-right Proud Boys group, have shed light on some of the FBI informants who were among Trump’s supporters on January 6. 2021. The right-wing media and some far-right political figures have seized on the presence of confidential human sources to promote the FBI or “deep” conspiracy theory. state’ was involved in inciting mob violence — claims that many lawyers for the January 6 defendants have dismissed as false.
“Our review determined that none of these FBI CHSs was authorized by the FBI to enter the Capitol or a restricted area or otherwise break the law on January 6, nor was the FBI authorized to encourage other CHSs to take illegal action on January 6,” Horowitz said in a statement announcing his report. .
