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Controversies have swirled around the January 6, 2021, protest in Washington for more than four years. The press and the Democratic Party have absurdly characterized the protest and ensuing riot as an “insurrection,” and its significance has been blown vastly out of proportion. On the conservative side, some have speculated that the riot–not the protest–was an inside job, choreographed by the FBI to make President Trump and conservatives look bad.

Last Thursday, the Inspector General of the Department of Justice, Michael Horowitz, released a report on the FBI’s role on that day: “A Review of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Handling of Its Confidential Human Sources and Intelligence Collection Efforts in the Lead Up to the January 6, 2021 Electoral Certification.”

Not many people have actually read Horowitz’s report, and headlines about the report have been misleading, more often than not. American Experiment’s David Zimmer is one of the few who have read the report, and also have the expertise to evaluate it. David has collaborated with the FBI many times, including providing security at three presidential inaugurations. And he worked with many confidential sources during his 33-year law enforcement career. David recorded his observations on Horowitz’s report at AmericanExperiment.org.

Years of speculation and punditry have cast a negative light on the FBI over its role on January 6th, some of it deserved and some of it not. The OIG report offers important clarification on the number of agents and confidential human sources (informants) and their role on January 6th.

Some of this speculation included reports that the FBI had hundreds of agents and informants dressed as Trump supporters in the January 6th crowd, and pre-positioned in the Capitol, to encourage rally goers to challenge the barricades and enter the Capitol. The OIG report indicates these speculated numbers and actions were false.

The report should put to rest speculation that the FBI conducted a “false flag operation” that incited or entrapped innocent people to commit criminal acts and violence on January 6th.

This is what the Horowitz report says about FBI sources who were present at the Capitol on January 6:

The FBI had a total of three (3) informants that it actively tasked with traveling to Washington DC to monitor specific suspects who were believed to be going to the January 6th event and potentially attempting to disrupt the electoral certification vote. None of these 3 informants were authorized by the FBI to do anything illegal or to enter the Capitol or any restricted area, and none of them were instructed to incite or entice anyone to do anything illegal. They were instructed to observe and report what they observed back to their FBI agent handler.

In addition, 23 other FBI informants decided on their own to travel to Washington DC and attend the January 6th event. None of these informants were given any assignments by the FBI. None of them were authorized to do anything illegal or enter the Capitol or restricted areas. None of them were instructed to incite or entice anyone to do anything illegal.

Of these 23 informants who traveled to DC on their own with no assignment, 13 notified their FBI agent handler, and 10 did not. Of the 13 who notified their agent handler, the Washington Field Office of the FBI (WFO) was informed of just 2. Of the 26 total informants present during the January 6th events, the WFO was aware of 5 – the 3 on active assignment and 2 of the 23 who were there on their own accord.

There were zero (0) FBI agents working undercover in the crowd or in the Capitol on January 6th and no agent acted to incite or entice anyone to do anything illegal at the January 6th event.

In recent years, the FBI’s leadership has tried to turn the Bureau into a tool of the Democratic Party. Its role in propagating the Russia collusion hoax, and in suppressing the evidence of Joe Biden’s corruption that emerged shortly before the 2020 election, should never be forgiven. But that doesn’t mean that everything the FBI does is politicized. Horowitz’s report doesn’t support any of the January 6 conspiracy theories, and Horowitz deserves credibility as one who has not hesitated to criticize the FBI’s leadership, harshly, in the past.

It is also worth noting that the FBI’s role on January 6, 2017, was relatively minor:

Given the history of the Congressional electoral certification vote, during which no vote had ever required a significant intelligence or security designation, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) did not issue such a designation for the January 6th, 2021, event.

As such, the FBI’s role was that of a support agency. Had the event been designated a National Special Security Event (NSSE), such as the Inauguration is every four years, then the FBI would have taken a lead role in preparing and securing the event. (As a result of the 2021 violence, the 2025 electoral certification vote at the Capitol has now been designated a NSSE and will be secured as such).

Given its support role status, the FBI focused on intelligence gathering and having a tactical response capability. The FBI shared the intelligence it gathered about threats on January 6th with the Capitol Police, the Metropolitan Police Department, and the US Park Police which were the primary agencies tasked with securing the Capitol grounds on January 6th.

There is more at the link. I encourage you to check it out. It is the only really knowledgeable assessment of the IG’s report that you are likely to see.