There have been more revelations regarding the actions of the federal government in relation to the January 6th riot at the Capitol. These could put greater scrutiny on the state’s involvement in the matter. A motion by a lawyer representing Proud Boys members, a right-wing activist organization, shows that the group was infiltrated by many informants.
American Greatness’ Julie Kelly obtained the motion. It noted that FBI informants were outnumbered by “confidential human sources” (CHS), and “plain-clothes officers representing other law enforcement agencies”.
According to the document, “[a]n organization called Homeland Security Investigations (HSI] seems to have played a significant role in managing and running CHSs among Proud Boys on Jan 6, 2021.”
BREAKING: Another doozy of a motion filed today by a Proud Boy defense lawyer related to informants, undercover agents
Number of DC Metro undercovers keeps growing: pic.twitter.com/3vOrIUZNPT
— Julie Kelly 🇺🇸 (@julie_kelly2) April 10, 2023
But even more damning is what the motion says about the behavior of these informants according to bodycam footage. “This new information is plainly exculpatory,” the document reads. “Bodycam videos worn on January 6 by undercover Metropolitan Police officers show the undercover officers cheering on the demonstrators, with chants of ‘Go! Go! Go!,’ ‘Stop the Steal!,’ and ‘Whose House? Our House!’”
“Undercover agents were placed among the protesters to instigators, not just observers.”
Attorney also pointed out that “at least 10-12 additional plain-clothes MPD Officers among the Proud Boys” on January 6. This means that at least 50 informants were involved in the group’s intrusion on that day.
BREAKING: Another doozy of a motion filed today by a Proud Boy defense lawyer related to informants, undercover agents
Number of DC Metro undercovers keeps growing: pic.twitter.com/3vOrIUZNPT
— Julie Kelly 🇺🇸 (@julie_kelly2) April 10, 2023
It is not a new fact that law enforcement agencies have infiltrated right-wing groups like the Proud Boys. This filing reveals the extent to which these informants were used by the government. The New York Times reported in December that there were eight FBI informants working for the far-right Proud Boys during the months preceding the storming at the Capitol.
The following is taken from the report:
The lawyers claimed in the papers that some of the information provided by the government by confidential sources was beneficial to their efforts to defend their clients from sedition charges. However, it was not disclosed by the prosecutors until a few days ago.
The defense quoted a sealed file in which prosecutors claimed that hundreds of pages of documents were related to the F.B.I. The government did not “suppress” the informants, nor were they directly relevant to the Proud Boys’ case.
The defense attorney claims that government agents encouraged the Capitol building crowd to commit violence if the allegations are true. These individuals were being persuaded to commit crimes by them, which is the same type of corruption that has plagued the Bureau since its inception.
The FBI has a history of infiltrating politically-oriented groups to persuade members to commit extremism in order to get more arrests. According to another report, the Bureau conducted the same operation against activists protesting police brutality following the death of George Floyd.
These revelations may help in the defense of those who are being charged by the government for allegedly pushing them to commit crimes. Unfortunately for others, it may be too late.
