BREAKING: 26 FBI sources were on the ground at J6—3 entered Capitol Building: IG report

A report out on Thursday from Inspector General Michael Horowitz shows that there were 26 FBI confidential human sources in the crowd, three of whom were asked to be there by the FBI, one of those went into the Capitol Building on January 6, 2021. Three of the additional confidential human sources who were on hand also entered the Capitol. None of these individuals have been prosecuted. 

"The D.C. U.S. Attorney's Office generally has not charged those individuals whose only crime on January 6, 2021 was to enter the restricted grounds surrounding the Capitol," said US Attorney Matthew Graces, "which has resulted in the Office declining to charge hundreds of individuals; and we have treated the CHSs consistent with this approach."

The report shows that the FBI had a small role in the response to J6 and that this was because the Department of Homeland Security had not deemed it to be a high security level event. Horowitz said that the FBI was prepared for what's being called their "supporting role." 

"The FBI Took Significant and Appropriate Steps in Advance of January 6 to Prepare for its Supporting Role. Despite playing only a supporting role in preparing for and responding to the events of January 6, the FBI recognized the potential for violence and took significant and appropriate steps to prepare for this supporting role," the report states.

Horowitz's report says that there were 26 confidential human sources in the crowd on January 6, 2021, and that of these, the FBI had only asked three to attend in order to report "on specific known concerns relating to domestic terrorism." The report states that of the three requested to be there by the FBI, two of them entered the area around the Capitol, which was restricted, while another entered the Capitol building itself. The three who the FBI asked to be there had been "tasked by FBI field offices to report on specific domestic terrorism case subjects who were possibly attending the events of January 6. One of these three CHSs entered the Capitol during the riot. The other two entered the restricted area around the Capitol."

None of those who were requested to be in attendance by the FBI were told to enter the building or authorized to enter either the building or the restricted area, not were they instructed to do anything illegal. The additional 23 confidential human sources who were on hand, the report states, were there on their own. Of those, three entered the Capitol while another 11 went into the restricted area around the building.

The review "did not identify any potentially critical intelligence in the FBI’s possession as of January 6 that had not been provided to, or was not otherwise known to law enforcement stakeholders prior to January 6."

Horowitz's report emphasized that the confidential human sources were not undercover agents but individuals who has worked with the FBI in the past as sources. Those sources, the report notes, were already part of the groups with whom they attended the events of J6, who became sources for the FBI.

"The FBI Did Not Canvass Field Offices for Intelligence from CHSs Prior to January 6, which Could Have Helped the FBI and Law Enforcement with Their January 6 Preparations. The FBI could have taken an additional step to canvass its field offices in advance of January 6 to identify any intelligence, including CHS reporting, that might have assisted with the FBI and law enforcement partners’ preparations for January 6. FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate described the lack of a canvass prior to January 6 as a 'basic step that was missed,' and told the OIG that he would have expected a formal canvassing of sources to have occurred," the report reads.

The Inspector General also states that "Confusion and Lack of Coordination Contributed to the FBI’s Inaccurate Report to Congress that It Had Canvassed Field Offices. After January 6, the FBI reported to Congress that it had directed its field offices prior to January 6 to canvass their CHSs for information concerning threats in connection with the January 6 Electoral Certification. However, as noted, we found that no canvassing of field offices for source information had occurred. We found that the FBI’s statements to Congress were not intentionally inaccurate, and that confusion and lack of coordinated communications contributed to the inaccurate reporting."

The events of Janaury 6 became a touchstone for Democrats and left-wing media pundits in the days, weeks, months, and years that followed. President-elect Donald Trump was prosecuted by the Biden administration's Department of Justice for what they believed was his role in inciting the crowd on that day. A committee was formed by then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to dig into the events leading up to the day and in it's aftermath. That committee put on presentations that were produced by a former producer for Good Morning America.

The DOJ has since prosecuted nearly 1,500 Americans for their role in the events of that day. Trump has promised to pardon those non-violent offenders.