US Intelligence Examines Potential FBI Involvement in Capitol Riot in 2021

An inquiry into possible FBI involvement in the 2021 Capitol attack is already underway, according to a top US intelligence officer.

According to a top official, the US intelligence community is aggressively looking into whether the FBI was involved in the preparation of the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol by Trump supporters.
During a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on his candidacy to head the US National Counterterrorism Center on Wednesday, Joseph Kent, director of staff to Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, revealed the information. Kent responded to inquiries from Democratic Senator Mark Kelly by saying, “We’re looking into it right now.”

Which of the 18 intelligence services is carrying out the investigation was not made clear by Kent. However, since Gabbard’s office is in charge of the FBI’s intelligence operations, the issue is within her purview.

Despite a US Justice Department inspector report that was published in December and refuted far-right conspiracy theories that claimed the FBI was involved in the Capitol disturbance, the probe is still on. According to the study, 26 FBI informants were in Washington, D.C. on that particular day, but none of them had permission to access the Capitol or encourage violence.

Senator Kelly questioned Kent about a previous post he made on the social media site X (previously Twitter) in which he suggested that the FBI and US intelligence might have played a role in planning the assault. Kent responded by pointing to the FBI’s known informants and the purported attempts by government agencies to censor that material. He went on to say that the intelligence community was looking into this and that the FBI’s Washington Field Office was “probably” engaged.

Kent’s political associations came under additional scrutiny as a result of the hearing. Kent is a well-known Trump supporter and a former CIA and Green Beret officer. With Tulsi Gabbard’s help, he campaigned unsuccessfully for Congress in 2022. He has previously referred to the rioters as “political prisoners” and described the Capitol attack as a “intelligence operation.”

Gabbard’s office cited her recent establishment of a new task force to restore public confidence in US intelligence when contacted for comment. Investigating alleged politicization, unauthorized leaks, and declassifying anything judged to be in the public interest are all part of the task force’s stated goal.

Kent was also asked about his involvement in a Signal group discussion where national security officials from the Trump administration allegedly talked about attacks against Houthi insurgents in Yemen in March 2024. Citing current litigation, he declined to comment further while claiming the shared material was unclassified. The use of the messaging app to arrange the strikes is presently being investigated by the Inspector General of the Pentagon.