Department of Justice Inspector General Michael Horowitz revealed Thursday that more than two dozen confidential human sources (CHSs) were present outside the Capitol during the January 6 protests.
According to the report, the FBI had formally assigned only three CHSs to be on-site during the events. It also emphasized that none of the sources were authorized or instructed by the bureau to “break the law” or “encourage others to commit illegal acts.”
“Today’s report also details our findings regarding FBI CHSs who were in Washington, D.C., on January 6. Our review determined that none of these FBI CHSs was authorized by the FBI to enter the Capitol or a restricted area or to otherwise break the law on January 6, nor was any CHS directed by the FBI to encourage others to commit illegal acts on January 6,” the report from Horowitz said.
The report disclosed that the FBI played only a limited supporting role in the response to the events of January 6, 2021, primarily because the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) had not classified the protest as a highest-level security threat, according to Fox News.
“One FBI field office tasked a CHS to travel to DC to report on the activities of a predicated domestic terrorism subject who was separately planning to travel to DC for the January 6 Electoral Certification,” the report stated.
“[A] second FBI field office tasked a CHS to travel to DC to potentially report on two domestic terrorism (DT) subjects from another FBI field office who were planning to travel to DC for the events of January 6; and a third CHS, who had informed their handling agent that they intended to travel to DC on their own initiative for the events of January 6, was similarly tasked by their field office to potentially report on two DT subjects from other FBI field offices who were planning to travel to DC for the events of January 6,” it said.
Horowitz said that investigators “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.”
Republicans responded to the report by noting that the results of their previous investigations corresponded to that of the DOJ IG’s findings, while also pointing out that FBI CHSs who did enter the Capitol against instructions were not punished.
“This report confirms what we suspected,” House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “The FBI had encouraged and tasked confidential human sources to be at the Capitol that day. There were 26 total present. Four entered the Capitol and weren’t charged, which is not the same treatment that other Americans received.”
“This has been our concern all along — agencies being weaponized against the American people. It’s not how our system is supposed to work,” he added.
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) wrote on the X platform last week. “It’s no coincidence that FBI Director Wray announced his resignation just prior to the release of the IG report exposing activities of FBI confidential human sources at the Capitol on Jan 6. For four years, I pressed for answers on this. Now the malfeasance is finally exposed.”
