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FBI reportedly had informant in Capitol riot crowd; insider says Proud Boys had no plans to engage in violence or storm the building on Jan. 6

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The FBI had an informant in the crowd during the Capitol riot on Jan. 
6, the New York Times reported on Saturday. The report said the secret 
informant was a member of Proud Boys, and revealed the group "had no 
plans to engage in violence" on Jan. 6, and there were no preplanned 
discussions of storming the U.S. Capitol.

The informant, who was not identified, was affiliated with a Midwest 
chapter of the Proud Boys and began working with the FBI in July 2020. 
The informer, who was part of a group chat of other Proud Boys, shared 
a "detailed account of his activities," according to confidential 
records obtained by the Times.

The group checked into an Airbnb in Virginia on Jan. 5. Around 10 a.m. 
on Jan. 6, the informant said he met with members of other Proud Boys 
chapters at the Washington Monument, and then marched toward the U.S. 
Capitol.

"The records say that the informant entered the Capitol after debating 
whether to do so with his compatriots. He then told his handlers, 
according to the records, that after police officers informed him that 
someone — possibly the pro-Trump rioter Ashli Babbitt — had been shot 
inside the building, he left the through a window," the New York Times 
reported.

"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," the 
report revealed.

The informant notes, "Proud Boys leaders gave explicit orders to 
maintain a defensive posture on Jan. 6." During an interview with the 
FBI in April, the insider said that he "never heard any discussion that 
day about stopping the Electoral College process."

The FBI was investigating two Jan. 6 rally participants who were 
possibly Proud Boys members, and asked the informant to make contact 
with them.

Court papers claimed a Proud Boys leader from Philadelphia was talking 
about "normal conservatives" — what members of the group refer to as 
"normies" – causing a ruckus during the Capitol riot. On the morning of 
Jan. 6, the leader wrote on the group's Telegram channel, "I want to 
see thousands of normies burn that city to ash today."

After the Capitol was stormed, another Proud Boys leader purportedly 
said, "That was NOT what I expected to happen today. All from us 
showing up and starting some chants and getting the normies all riled 
up."

The informant "showed his handlers screenshots of an online chat board 
known to be popular among Trump supporters indicating that some so-
called normal conservatives were planning to bring weapons to 
Washington in January." The records state there was no evidence from 
the informant showing that they intended to purposely instigate the 
"normal conservatives."

"While the F.B.I.'s standard practice is not to discuss its sources and 
methods, it is important to understand that sources provide valuable 
information regarding criminal activity and national security matters," 
the FBI told the Times in a statement.

Prosecutors have brought charges relating to the Capitol riot against 
more than 600 people, and filed conspiracy charges against 15 members 
of the Proud Boys for their alleged actions on Jan. 6.

A Reuters report in August alleged there was insufficient reason to 
believe that the Capitol riots was a coordinated attempt to launch an 
insurrection against the U.S. government. The report stated, "The FBI 
has found scant evidence that the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol was 
the result of an organized plot to overturn the presidential election 
result," citing four current and former law enforcement officials.

--
Trump won.

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FBI reportedly had informant in Capitol riot crowd; insider says Proud Boys had no plans to engage in violence or storm the building on Jan. 6 Ubiquitous <weberm@polaris.net> - 2021-09-27 21:05 -0400

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