FBI had 274 plainclothes agents embedded in Jan. 6 crowds

The FBI secretly deployed 274 plainclothes agents into the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot crowds, a fact hidden for over four and a half years until current Director Kash Patel’s team turned over a 50-page after-action report to Congress. Agents lacked proper safety gear and clear identification, risking misidentification by other law enforcement. One agent wrote, “I wish you all would pay more attention to our safety than what type of masks we wear.”

Rank-and-file agents slammed the bureau’s leadership, claiming political bias infected operations under James Comey and Chris Wray. “Our response to the Capitol Riot reeks of political bias,” one agent stated. Another wrote, “We have been used as pawns in a political war.”

Agents criticized the FBI’s aggressive pursuit of Jan. 6 cases compared to minimal action against 2020 Black Lives Matter rioters, with one noting, “I do not recall a single instance where the FBI… made any attempt to put the resources behind the summer riots of 2020.”

The report reveals internal frustration over the Washington Field Office’s “hopelessly broken” culture, prioritizing “wokeness” over crime-fighting. One agent urged, “The FBI should make clear to its personnel and the public that… it ultimately still takes its mission and priorities seriously.”

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan and subcommittee chair Barry Loudermilk demand answers on why courts and defendants were not informed of the agents’ presence, raising concerns about prosecutorial fairness.