Shaking up the trial of members of the Proud Boys, in Washington, DC, related to the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot is the revelations of the sheer number of FBI informants involved in the case. One FBI informant ,reportedly, even infiltrated the defense team.
According to investigative reporter Julie Kelly, who has covered the January 6 trials extensively for American Greatness (AG), there are “at least ten” FBI informants now known to have been involved in the Proud Boys. Shockingly, that number is more than twice the five defendants who are actually on trial. In her recent article for AG, Kelly wrote-
“At least 10 and possibly up to 15 FBI informants were embedded in the group months before and continuing after the events of January 6. Informants participated in numerous group chats, cozied up to leadership, and even accompanied the Proud Boys to Washington.”
“One known informant, according to a September 2021 New York Times report, was involved in the first breach of Capitol grounds and entered the building that afternoon.”
“But prosecutors and Judge Timothy Kelly have tried their best to prevent the public from learning the full scope of the FBI’s involvement. The docket is littered with sealed hearings and filings; prosecutors presented to the defense team heavily redacted reports related to FBI informants just before the trial began.”
“Everything has been done under cover,” one defense attorney recently complained in court. A consortium of major news corporations also knocked Kelly this week for holding “sealed hearings and exclud[ing] the press and public from attending proceedings in this high-profile case.”
“Kelly also took the highly unusual and prejudicial step of requiring the defense to “pre-clear” questions with prosecutors before asking a witness about the use of informants—but information is slowly trickling as the defense finally gets their turn.”
-Julie Kelly, American Greatness
Last week in a further shocking revelation, it was learned that one FBI informant, Jen Loh, a member of Latinos for Trump, had been in close contact with the defendants and their legal team throughout the trial, potentially compromising their constitutional rights. Possibly violating attorney-client privilege and the Sixth Amendment, the presence of this particular FBI source, could upend the case. That is, if the government did actually spy on discussions among the defendant(s) and their lawyer(s) by using an informant.
According to a report this week by CNN-
“Over the past year, Texas woman Jen Loh, has been in touch with several Proud Boys now on trial for seditious conspiracy, talking with the members of the far-right group and their defense counsel about the case and suggesting possible witnesses and attorneys who could help.”
“All the while, Loh was also a paid FBI informant”.
“That revelation threw a wrench into the ongoing trial this week in federal court in Washington, DC, when defense counsel learned of her relationship with the government.”
-CNN
On Monday, Loh, is scheduled to be questioned by defense attorneys, thought there are growing questions, about the extent to which FBI informants knew about the Capitol riot, and may have encouraged the crowd during the riot.
Also, despite the fact that many of the defendants in January 6-related prosecutions, have pleaded guilty, acknowledging that they alone decided to trespass or to commit other crimes, the role of these informants still remains unclear.
Reportedly some Trump supporters have incorrectly claimed, that the riot was fomented by left-wing groups, or that it was entirely orchestrated by the FBI. Apparently, the continued shroud of secrecy surrounding, these many FBI informants, and their role in the January 6th event, has fueled such claims. As the truth trickles out – time will tell.
“Be careful of twisting truths to fit your narrative. It’s a dangerous path to go down.”
-Joseph Lalonde