A Justice Department Inspector General report has uncovered that FBI informants were present during the Jan. 6, 2021, protest at the U.S. Capitol, with several entering restricted zones despite lacking authorization. Inspector General Michael Horowitz’s 79-page investigation disclosed that 26 FBI Confidential Human Sources attended the demonstration. Four of these individuals went inside the Capitol building, while 13 others breached the surrounding restricted grounds. The report noted that these sources provided intelligence about the Electoral Certification both before and during the events. One informant who entered the Capitol received travel expense reimbursement for attending both the protest and President Joe Biden’s inauguration two weeks later. Legal expert Jonathan Turley expressed concern about potential implications for past prosecutions. “The question is whether the presence of these sources were revealed to the defense in the hundreds of prosecutions,” Turley wrote on X. The revelation follows a contentious Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in January 2022, where Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) questioned FBI Assistant Executive Director Jill Sanborn about agency involvement in the Capitol protest. During that exchange, Sanborn repeatedly declined to answer Cruz’s inquiries about whether FBI personnel or informants participated in or encouraged violence during the incident. “Ms. Sanborn, a lot of Americans are concerned that the federal government deliberately encouraged illegal and violent conduct on Jan. 6,” Cruz stated during the hearing. The Inspector General’s document emphasized that none of the confidential sources had permission to enter restricted areas or violate laws. “None of these FBI CHSs were authorized to enter the Capitol or a restricted area, or to otherwise break the law on January 6,” the report stated. Congressional oversight committees are expected to investigate further details about the role these FBI sources played during the protest. The findings may impact ongoing legal proceedings related to the Capitol breach and raise new questions about federal law enforcement’s involvement in the events of that day.