Among Those Who Marched Into the Capitol on Jan. 6: An F.B.I. Informant

As scores of Proud Boys made their way, chanting and shouting, toward the Capitol connected Jan. 6, 1 subordinate of the far-right radical was engaged texting a real-time relationship of the march.

The recipient was his F.B.I. handler.

In the mediate of an unfolding melee that shook a pillar of American democracy — the peaceful transportation of powerfulness — the bureau had an informant successful the crowd, providing an wrong glimpse of the action, according to confidential records obtained by The New York Times. In the informant’s mentation of events, the Proud Boys, celebrated for their thoroughfare fights, were mostly pursuing a pro-Trump mob consumed by a herd mentality alternatively than carrying retired immoderate benignant of preplanned attack.

After gathering his chap Proud Boys astatine the Washington Monument that morning, the informant described his way to the Capitol grounds wherever helium saw barriers knocked down and Trump supporters streaming into the building, the records show. At 1 point, his handler appeared not to grasp that the gathering had been breached, the records show, and asked the informant to support him successful the loop — particularly if determination was immoderate violence.

The usage of informants ever presents instrumentality enforcement officials with hard judgments astir the credibility and completeness of the accusation they provide. In this case, the records obtained by The Times bash not straight code whether the informant was successful a bully presumption to cognize astir plans developed for Jan. 6 by the enactment of the Proud Boys, wherefore helium was cooperating, whether helium could person missed indications of a crippled oregon whether helium could person deliberately misled the government.

But the records, and accusation from 2 radical acquainted with the matter, suggest that national instrumentality enforcement had a acold greater visibility into the battle connected the Capitol, adjacent arsenic it was taking place, than was antecedently known.

At the aforesaid time, the caller accusation is apt to complicate the government’s efforts to beryllium the high-profile conspiracy charges it has brought against respective members of the Proud Boys.

On Jan. 6, and for months after, the records show, the informant, who was affiliated with a Midwest section of the Proud Boys, denied that the radical intended to usage unit that day. In lengthy interviews, the records say, helium besides denied that the extremist enactment planned successful beforehand to tempest the Capitol. The informant’s individuality was not disclosed successful the records.

The records describing the informant’s relationship of Jan. 6 — excerpts from his interviews and communications with the F.B.I. before, during and aft the riot — dovetail with assertions made by defence lawyers who person argued that adjacent though respective Proud Boys broke into the Capitol, the radical did not get successful Washington with a preset crippled to tempest the building.

They besides rise caller questions astir the show of the F.B.I. successful tracking the menace from far-right groups similar the Proud Boys.

The records — provided to The Times connected the information that they not beryllium straight quoted — amusement the F.B.I. was investigating astatine slightest 2 different participants successful the rally connected Jan. 6 and asked the informant to marque interaction with them, suggesting that they mightiness beryllium Proud Boys.

Moreover, the records bespeak that F.B.I. officials successful Washington were alerted successful beforehand of the onslaught that the informant was traveling to the Capitol with respective different Proud Boys.

The F.B.I. besides had an further informant with ties to different Proud Boys section that took portion successful the sacking of the Capitol, according to a idiosyncratic acquainted with the matter, raising questions astir the prime of the bureau’s informants and what sorts of questions they were being asked by their handlers earlier Jan. 6.

Christopher A. Wray, the bureau’s director, acknowledged to Congress successful March that the F.B.I. was studying the prime of the quality it had gathered astir Jan. 6.

“Anytime there’s an attack, particularly 1 that’s this horrific, that strikes close astatine the bosom of our strategy of government, close astatine the clip the transportation of powerfulness is being discussed, you tin beryllium darn tootin’ that we are focused very, precise hard connected however tin we get amended sources, amended information, amended investigation truthful that we tin marque definite that thing similar what happened connected Jan. 6th ne'er happens again,” helium said during the legislature hearing.

In a statement, the F.B.I. said that quality gathering was cardinal to its ngo of protecting the American radical and upholding the Constitution.

“While the F.B.I.’s modular signifier is not to sermon its sources and methods, it is important to recognize that sources supply invaluable accusation regarding transgression enactment and nationalist information matters,” the bureau said.

The caller accusation was revealed astatine a clip erstwhile misinformation continues to circulate among far-right commentators and websites accusing the F.B.I. of having utilized informants oregon agents to signifier the onslaught connected Jan. 6. But if anything, the records look to amusement that the informant’s F.B.I. handler was dilatory to grasp the gravity of what was happening that day. And the records amusement that the informant traveled to Washington astatine his ain volition, not astatine the petition of the F.B.I.

The question of whether extremist groups similar the Proud Boys conspired successful beforehand of Jan. 6 to signifier the worst battle connected the Capitol successful much than 200 years is 1 of the astir important avenues of enquiry being pursued by the authorities. But the records describing the informant are lone 1 portion of a overmuch larger puzzle that includes different accusation astir the group.

The informant, who started moving with the F.B.I. successful July 2020, appears to person been adjacent to respective different members of his Proud Boys chapter, including immoderate who person been charged successful the attack. But it is not wide from the records obtained by The Times however good helium knew the group’s apical leaders oregon whether helium was successful the champion presumption to larn astir imaginable plans to tempest the Capitol.

As much and much Proud Boys person been arrested successful transportation with the attack, the radical has been progressively plunged into an ambiance of suspicion astir the beingness of informants successful their ranks.

The acheronian temper started 3 weeks aft the riot erstwhile it abruptly emerged that Enrique Tarrio, the group’s leader, had himself worked arsenic a F.B.I. informant good earlier helium joined the Proud Boys.

Mr. Tarrio was not astatine the Capitol connected Jan. 6, having been ordered by a section justice to enactment distant from Washington aft his apprehension days earlier connected charges of illegally possessing ammunition magazines and burning a Black Lives Matter banner aft a pro-Trump rally successful December. He is presently serving a five-month condemnation connected the charges.

In seeking to beryllium that the Proud Boys planned the battle successful beforehand past worked unneurotic connected Jan. 6 to disrupt the certification of the Electoral College vote, prosecutors person claimed successful tribunal papers that their leaders raised wealth to bring radical to Washington; gathered instrumentality similar protective vests and multichannel radios; and ordered subordinates to debar wearing their emblematic black-and-yellow polo shirts successful favour of much mean clothes.

The F.B.I. has besides collected incendiary societal media posts and recordings of podcasts successful which salient Proud Boys members clasp a benignant of revolutionary zeal aft President Donald J. Trump’s nonaccomplishment to Joseph R. Biden Jr., with immoderate suggesting that “traitors” should beryllium changeable oregon that civilian warfare was connected the horizon.

As portion of their investigation, national agents yet obtained thousands of private radical chats sent among dozens of Proud Boys connected the messaging app Telegram. In 1 of the chats, written the nighttime earlier the riot, a Proud Boys person told his troops to beryllium decentralized and usage bully judgment, adding, “Cops are the superior threat.”

But statements from the informant look to antagonistic the government’s assertion that the Proud Boys organized for an violative battle connected the Capitol intended to halt the peaceful modulation from Mr. Trump to Mr. Biden.

On the eve of the attack, the records show, the informant said that the radical had nary plans to prosecute successful unit the adjacent time but to support itself from imaginable assaults from leftist activists — a communicative the Proud Boys person often utilized to excuse their ain convulsive behavior.

Then, during an interrogation successful April, the informant again told his handlers that Proud Boys leaders gave explicit orders to support a antiaircraft posture connected Jan. 6. At different constituent successful the interview, helium said that helium ne'er heard immoderate treatment that time astir stopping the Electoral College process.

The records amusement that, aft driving to Washington and checking into an Airbnb successful Virginia connected Jan. 5, the informant spent astir of Jan. 6 with different Proud Boys, including immoderate who person been charged successful the attack. While the informant mentioned seeing Proud Boys leaders that day, similar Ethan Nordean, who has besides been charged, determination is nary denotation that helium was straight progressive with immoderate Proud Boys successful enactment positions.

In a elaborate relationship of his activities contained successful the records, the informant, who was portion of a radical chat of different Proud Boys, described gathering up with scores of men from chapters astir the state astatine 10 a.m. connected Jan. 6 astatine the Washington Monument and yet marching to the Capitol. He said that erstwhile helium arrived, throngs of radical were already streaming past the archetypal obstruction extracurricular the building, which, helium aboriginal learned, was taken down by 1 of his Proud Boy acquaintances and a young pistillate with him.

The records accidental that the informant entered the Capitol aft debating whether to bash truthful with his compatriots. He past told his handlers, according to the records, that aft constabulary officers informed him that idiosyncratic — perchance the pro-Trump rioter Ashli Babbitt — had been changeable wrong the building, helium near the done a window. The records accidental that helium wounded nary 1 and broke nothing.

According to the records, the informant archetypal began to archer the F.B.I. what helium knew astir Jan. 6 successful precocious December aft a pro-Trump rally successful Washington that period turned violent. He showed his handlers screenshots of an online chat committee known to beryllium fashionable among Trump supporters indicating that immoderate alleged mean conservatives were readying to bring weapons to Washington successful January, the records show.

But the records incorporate nary denotation that the informant was alert of a imaginable crippled by Proud Boys leaders to purposefully instigate those mean Trump supporters — oregon what members of the radical notation to arsenic “normies” — connected Jan. 6.

According to tribunal papers successful 1 case, a Proud Boys person from Philadelphia wrote connected the group’s Telegram transmission connected the greeting of Jan. 6, “I privation to spot thousands of normies pain that metropolis to ash today.”

Then, aft the onslaught was over, different person of the chapter, summed up his thoughts astir the riot connected the chat, according to tribunal papers.