The FBI had 26 confidential sources at the Jan. 6, 2021, attack at the U.S. Capitol, but no undercover FBI agents were on the National Mall that day, contradicting theories about the attack.
“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,” according to an 88-page report from the Department of Justice’s Office of the Inspector General.
The FBI did have 26 confidential sources on the ground during the protests. Some of those sources fed information back to the bureau during the attack on the U.S. Capitol, according to the report. Three of those 26 went to D.C. with the approval of the Washington Field Office to report on possible domestic terrorism subjects who were possibly attending the event.
“Our review concluded that none of these three FBI [confidential human sources] were authorized to enter the Capitol or a restricted area, or to otherwise break the law on January 6, nor was any [confidential human source] directed by the FBI to encourage others to commit illegal acts on January 6,” according to the report.
None of the FBI’s confidential sources were allowed to enter the Capitol or a restricted area, but four entered the Capitol, and another 13 entered the restricted area around the Capitol. Nine confidential sources “neither entered a restricted area nor entered the Capitol or otherwise engaged in illegal activity,” according to the report.
“None of the [confidential human sources] who entered the Capitol or a restricted area has been prosecuted to date,” according to the report. “The OIG determined that many of these 26 [confidential human sources] had provided information relevant to the January 6 Electoral Certification before the event and that a few CHSs also provided information about the riot as it occurred.”
