Official congressional records and news reports

DOJ IG Horowitz Reveals FBI Had 26 Informants on Jan. 6, Counters Conspiracy Theories

Dec 13, 2024, 02:05 AM

On December 12, 2024, the Department of Justice's Inspector General, Michael Horowitz, released a report revealing that the FBI had 26 confidential human sources present during the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot, including at least 17 who entered restricted areas and four who went into the Capitol building. Despite FBI Director Christopher Wray's previous denial under oath regarding undercover agents, the report highlights that while informants were present, they were not authorized to incite illegal activities. Representative Jim Jordan commented on the findings, stating, "There were 26 spies there on January 6th." The report underscores intelligence failures by the FBI leading up to the riot but counters conspiracy theories suggesting federal agents provoked the attack, affirming that no undercover FBI agents were involved in inciting the events.