The Justice Department’s Office of the Inspector General confirmed the presence of at least 26 FBI informants in Washington, DC, during the Jan. 6, 2021 storming of the Capitol, but added that there was no evidence of undercover bureau agents there, according to a report released Thursday.
Of those informants, four entered the Capitol in the midst of the riot, 13 went into a restricted area and nine had not been engaged in illegal activity, according to a report from the inspector general.
Some of those informants obtained information about the planned movements of right-wing groups such as the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys during the events surrounding the storming of the Capitol, according to a report from the inspector general.
“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,” the report noted.
The report also underscored that none of those informants “were authorized to enter the Capitol or a restricted area, or to otherwise break the law on January 6, [2021]” and that none were “directed by the FBI to encourage others to commit illegal acts on January 6 [2021].”