4 findings from DOJ watchdog report on FBI's handling of Jan. 6 Capitol riot
FBI informants were 'not authorized' to enter the Capitol or break the law
According to the OIG report, FBI informants who were at the Capitol on Jan. 6 were not authorized to enter the Capitol or other restricted areas, to break the law or encourage others to break the law.
While some of the informants did enter the restricted areas, none have been prosecuted for participating in the riot, the report stated.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
Among these informants were individuals who participated in criminal activities during the riot, but none were charged, despite the hundreds of others who faced legal consequences for their actions that day.
The report does not specify the identities of the informants or the full scope of their actions during the riot.
In the case of one informant, FBI Field Office 3 "did not inform" the FBI's main office of the informant's travel plans, according to the report. That informant didn't enter the Capitol or restricted area on Jan. 6.
In response to the report's findings, the D.C. U.S. Attorney's Office told investigators that prosecutors have "not charged those individuals whose only crime on January 6, 2021, was to enter the restricted grounds surrounding the Capitol, which has resulted in the Office declining to charge hundreds of individuals; and we have treated the [informants] consistent with this approach."
The scope of the review didn't include prosecution decisions made by federal prosecutors in relation to informants' actions on Jan. 6.
