Donald Trump is blaming the FBI for inciting the Capitol riot, which saw his supporters storm the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to stop the peaceful transfer of power after the 2020 election.
Trump ranted on Truth Social, without evidence, that the FBI “secretly placed” 274 agents into the “Stop the Steal” crowd gathered in Washington, D.C., on the day of the riot.
Right-wing media reported on Friday that FBI agents were involved in the riot. But those reports conflate the FBI’s response to the riot with conservative conspiracy theories hefting blame for the attack onto FBI undercover agents.
Last year, the Department of Justice confirmed that the FBI had sent “hundreds” of agents to the Capitol to assist in pushing back against Trump loyalists and to investigate pipe bombs placed outside the national headquarters of both the Democratic and Republican parties.
The report also found that 26 FBI confidential informants — individuals not employed by the FBI but who have at times provided information — were in the crowd. But almost all of them were there without informing the bureau ahead of time, and none were found to have been instructed to instigate or participate in violence.
The IG ultimately found “no evidence” that the agency had placed undercover employees “in the various protest crowds, or at the Capitol, on January 6.”
Two outlets — Just The News and The Blaze — reported that the FBI “had a total of 274 agents deployed to the Capitol in plainclothes and with guns,” but the document Just The News posted doesn’t substantiate that claim. The Blaze cited an unnamed source, according to Politico.
Regardless of the veracity of the claims, Trump pounced on the chance to shift blame for the riot off of him, claiming without any evidence that the alleged agents “probably” were acting as “Agitators and Insurrectionists.”
“I want to know who each and every one of these so-called ‘Agents’ are, and what they were up to on that now ‘Historic’ Day,’” Trump wrote. “Many Great American Patriots were made to pay a very big price only for the love their Country.”
Trump also wrapped former FBI Director Chris Wray into his claims, suggesting Wray misled Congress during the investigation into the Capitol riot. He made the accusation just days after he directed Attorney General Pam Bondi to prosecute former FBI Director James Comey, who investigated his 2016 presidential campaign for connections to Russia.
“That’s two in a row, Comey and Wray, who got caught LYING, with our Great Country at stake,” Trump said.
