It appears that the New York Times published an explosive story but played it down, possibly to get ahead of it.
It seems that at least one FBI informant was involved with one of the rioters before, during, and after the riot/rally. And another is also mentioned.
Julie Kelly of American Greatness believes this is a damage control article.
THE TIMES STORY
On J6, a member of the Proud Boys, marched from the Washington Monument to the Capitol while texting an FBI handler. He was an informant and the FBI knew what was going on in real-time.
The New York Times reviewed records exposing the greater than previously known visibility of federal law enforcement in the riot at the Capitol, even as it was happening.
According to The Times, the records obtained didn’t address whether the informant knew about the Proud Boys’ plans, why he cooperated, whether he could have missed a plot, or whether he misled the government.
“But the records, and information from two people familiar with the matter, suggest that federal law enforcement had a far greater visibility into the assault on the Capitol, even as it was taking place than was previously known,” The Times reported.
The informant’s Proud Boys’ acquaintance was taking down barriers so people could stream past as he was walking to the Capitol.
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The Times continued. “In a detailed account of his activities contained in the records, the informant, who was part of a group chat of other Proud Boys, described meeting up with scores of men from chapters around the country at 10 a.m. on Jan. 6 at the Washington Monument and eventually marching to the Capitol. He said that when he arrived, throngs of people were already streaming past the first barrier outside the building, which, he later learned, was taken down by one of his Proud Boy acquaintances and a young woman with him.”
The records show the informant kept the FBI informed.
…the group did not arrive in Washington with a preset plot to storm the building. [That should help kill the conspiracy and insurrection charges]
The FBI was investigating at least three people.
…the records indicate that F.B.I. officials in Washington were alerted in advance of the attack that the informant was traveling to the Capitol with several other Proud Boys.
There was another informant!
The F.B.I. also had an additional informant with ties to another Proud Boys chapter that took part in the sacking of the Capitol.
…the records appear to show that the informant’s F.B.I. handler was slow to grasp the gravity of what was happening that day. And the records show that the informant traveled to Washington at his own volition, not at the request of the F.B.I.
His own volition? He’s a paid informant who went to a major event at the Capitol to inform. The Times is being very cagey here.
The informant, who started working with the F.B.I. in July 2020, appears to have been close to several other members of his Proud Boys chapter, including some who have been charged in the attack.
Prosecutors have filed conspiracy charges against 15 members of the Proud Boys in four separate but interlocking cases. These cases include the “most prominent allegations levied in more than 600 cases brought in connection with the Capitol attack.”
“On the eve of the attack, the records show, the informant said that the group had no plans to engage in violence the next day except to defend itself from potential assaults from leftist activists — a narrative the Proud Boys have often used to excuse their own violent behavior,” The Times authors write.
In April, according to The Times, “the informant again told his handlers that Proud Boys leaders gave explicit orders to maintain a defensive posture on Jan. 6. At another point in the interview, he said that he never heard any discussion that day about stopping the Electoral College process.”
“That was NOT what I expected to happen today,” he wrote. “All from us showing up and starting some chants and getting the normies all riled up.”
We leave you to draw your own conclusions.
wpDiscuz
