A recent report from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of the Inspector General revealed that the FBI should have done more to gather intelligence before the January 6, 2021, Capitol riots, despite prior preparations for potential violence. The report, published Thursday, criticizes the FBI for not collecting crucial intelligence from its field offices ahead of the insurrection.
While the FBI had made preparations for possible violence that day, including issuing warnings about potential unrest, the report highlights that no FBI agents were present at the Capitol, and no informants were authorized to participate in the protests. This has sparked renewed debate about the agency’s handling of intelligence related to the Capitol attacks.
The Inspector General’s report refutes conspiracy theories, particularly those pushed by some Republican lawmakers, suggesting that the FBI played a role in inciting the violence. The rioters, who sought to overturn the 2020 election results and disrupt the certification of President Joe Biden’s victory, stormed the Capitol and clashed with police.
The report, issued nearly four years after the Capitol riots, sheds light on ongoing debates regarding potential failures in intelligence gathering before the protests and whether anyone within the crowd was acting on behalf of the FBI. It also outlines the FBI’s failure to collect crucial intelligence from its 56 field offices before the attack.
According to the report, while 26 FBI informants were present in Washington for the January 6 protests, only three entered the Capitol or the surrounding area. None were authorized by the bureau to break the law or incite others to do so.
In the aftermath of the riots, the Inspector General’s Office initiated a thorough review, which began days after the events, following the release of a summary prepared by the FBI’s Norfolk, Virginia office, which warned of the possibility of “war” at the Capitol. The former head of the FBI’s Washington field office had shared the warning on January 5, but Capitol Police leadership claimed they were unaware of the warning and insisted they had no credible information suggesting that the protests would escalate into a full-scale attack.
FBI Director Chris Wray defended the agency’s handling of the intelligence, stating that the information was shared in a timely manner with Capitol Police and the Metropolitan Police Department via multiple channels. He emphasized that the FBI communicated the threat of violence well in advance.
Conspiracy theories alleging that federal law enforcement officers were responsible for inciting the violence have circulated in conservative circles. Republican lawmakers, including Rep. Clay Higgins, recently suggested that FBI agents posing as Trump supporters were responsible for instigating the violence.
Former Congressman Matt Gaetz also questioned Wray in 2021 about the presence of FBI informants at the Capitol on January 6, seeking clarification on whether they were passive informants or active instigators. Wray has firmly denied these claims, calling the idea that the violence was part of an FBI operation “absurd.”
The report highlights the significant role of FBI informants in infiltrating extremist groups like the ‘Proud Boys’ ahead of the riot. One informant testified in the trial against Enrique Tarrio, the former leader of the Proud Boys, confirming communication with members of the group during the storming of the Capitol. However, the informant did not participate in discussions on the encrypted messaging app Telegram, which the Proud Boys used to plan the violence.
This report sheds new light on the intelligence failures leading up to the Capitol riots and continues to fuel political debates about the FBI’s role in the event.
