Trump accuses FBI of role in Jan 6 Capitol riots, claims agents were ‘secretly placed’

President Donald Trump on Saturday (local time) accused the FBI of playing a role in the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, sharply escalating his criticism of the bureau while downplaying the violence carried out by a mob of his supporters.

Trump claimed on social media that the FBI had “secretly placed” 274 agents in the crowd that stormed the Capitol to disrupt the certification of Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory.

His remarks followed reports in right-leaning media that conflated the FBI’s acknowledged response to the attack—sending agents and personnel to help restore order—with conspiracy theories suggesting undercover agents were embedded to incite violence.

On Truth Social, Trump wrote, “It was just revealed that the FBI had secretly placed, against all Rules, Regulations, Protocols, and Standards, 274 FBI Agents into the Crowd just prior to, and during, the January 6th Hoax.”

He added, “This is different from what Director Christopher Wray stated, over and over again! That’s right, as it now turns out, FBI Agents were at, and in, the January 6th Protest, probably acting as Agitators and Insurrectionists, but certainly not as ‘Law Enforcement Officials.’”

Trump said he wants to know the identity of each officer and what they were doing at the Capitol.

Inspector General report findings

The Justice Department inspector general reported ten months ago that hundreds of FBI agents went to the Capitol to assist the overwhelmed Capitol Police, responding to pipe bombs and a vehicle loaded with explosives outside party headquarters.

The IG also found that 26 FBI confidential sources—not employees—were among the crowd, but nearly all did not inform the bureau of their attendance, and none were instructed to break the law or join the riot.

FBI clarifies agent deployment

The FBI clarified on Saturday that the 274 plainclothes agents were sent after the riot began to help control the crowd. Director Kash Patel told Fox News Digital that this was “something that goes against FBI standards” and criticized former Director Wray for not being forthcoming during congressional testimony.

“Agents were sent into a crowd control mission after the riot was declared by Metro Police—something that goes against FBI standards. This was the failure of a corrupt leadership that lied to Congress and to the American people about what really happened,” Patel said.

An FBI official added that there is no evidence any agents were involved in events related to Trump’s speech at the Ellipse on the morning of Jan. 6 but said Wray should have disclosed the agents’ presence when questioned by Congress.