The FBI issued a response following a report that 274 plainclothes bureau personnel were present during the January 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol, Fox News reports. Officials explained their presence while criticism continued to mount against former Director Christopher Wray.
According to what officials told Fox News Digital, those agents were dispatched only after the riot was already underway in an effort to help control the crowds. Kash Patel argued that such assignments are outside the FBI’s responsibilities and faulted Wray for repeatedly withholding that information when testifying on Capitol Hill.
“Agents were sent into a crowd control mission after the riot was declared by Metro Police – something that goes against FBI standards,” Patel told Fox News Digital. “This was the failure of a corrupt leadership that lied to Congress and to the American people about what really happened.”
He added, “Thanks to agents coming forward, we are now uncovering the truth. We are fully committed to transparency, and justice and accountability continues with this FBI.”
An FBI representative also told Fox News Digital there is no evidence that any bureau agents were linked to President Trump’s speech earlier that morning at the Ellipse. However, the official acknowledged Wray should have disclosed to lawmakers that FBI personnel were at the scene.
President Donald Trump weighed in after The Blaze reported on the number of agents present, criticizing Wray for not being candid.
“It was just revealed that the FBI had secretly placed, against all Rules, Regulations, Protocols, and Standards, 274 FBI Agents into the Crowd just prior to, and during, the January 6th Hoax,” Trump wrote on Truth Social Saturday.
Trump added, “This is different from what Director Christopher Wray stated, over and over again! That’s right, as it now turns out, FBI Agents were at, and in, the January 6th Protest, probably acting as Agitators and Insurrectionists, but certainly not as ‘Law Enforcement Officials.’”
He demanded details on who the officers were and why they were there at the Capitol.
“Many Great American Patriots were made to pay a very big price only for the love of their Country,” Trump said, referring to his supporters who were prosecuted for their actions that day.
Earlier this year, Trump granted pardons or commutations to all individuals charged in connection with January 6 after he took office.
He concluded, “I owe this investigation of ‘Dirty Cops and Crooked Politicians’ to them! Christopher Wray, the then Director of the FBI, has some major explaining to do. That’s two in a row, Comey and Wray, who got caught LYING, with our Great Country at stake. WE CAN NEVER LET THIS HAPPEN TO AMERICA AGAIN!”
The Blaze, citing a senior congressional aide, said the number of agents should not be viewed as shocking, since the FBI often stations countersurveillance staff at large-scale events.
In testimony before a House committee on Nov. 15, 2023, Wray said, “If you are asking if the violence at the Capitol was part of some operation orchestrated by FBI sources or agents, the answer is no,” though he declined to confirm whether agents or informants had been embedded in the crowd.
Politico later reported that the 274 figure also included agents tasked with responding to pipe bombs found outside the headquarters of both national political parties the night before the riot.
Wray had been chosen to lead the bureau by Trump in 2017 after he dismissed James Comey, who was indicted just this week for allegedly lying to Congress.
The Justice Department’s inspector general, Michael Horowitz, released a report in December stating: “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,” though he confirmed there were 26 paid informants present, three of them assigned by the FBI.
That review also explained that FBI staff were deployed at the request of Capitol Police, who were overwhelmed, specifically to aid in crowd management. Horowitz made clear that none of the informants were allowed to provoke unrest, commit crimes, or enter the Capitol itself.
The Blaze suggested that confusion between the terms “plainclothes” and “undercover” may explain why both the inspector general’s findings and the FBI’s statements can technically be correct.
One official told Fox News Digital that many agents resented being asked to perform crowd control since they had no advance preparation and are not trained for such roles. The decision ran contrary to the bureau’s original intent to keep away from direct involvement.
The first FBI personnel began arriving at the Capitol around 2:30 p.m., after a riot was declared, and additional agents followed, the official said.
Patel later criticized Wray for the way he handled questions in Congress before the inspector general’s report came out.
“Why it took a ton of time and questioning in Congress for the director to get that point is what I’m trying to eliminate from the FBI,” Patel said. “If Congress asks you a question under oath, whether or not there were sources in [or] around Jan. 6th at the Capitol, you as the director of the FBI need to know that and not deflect and give a D.C. answer. You have to be prepared for that.”
{Matzav.com}
No white male is above the law. Mr. Wray needs to be arrested and thrown in a prison cell together with Adam Schiff and Jerry Wadler.