FBI Warned of Armed Violence and Antifa Before the Capitol Riot, Lawmaker Says

Key Intelligence Reports Highlighted by Congressman

Numerous confidential informants alerted the FBI prior to the Jan. 6, 2021 riot that there was a strong possibility of "armed" conflict at the U.S. Capitol. However, this intelligence was not acted upon aggressively enough to change the security measures on that day. Rep. Barry Loudermilk, R-Ga., who chairs the House Judiciary subcommittee investigating Jan. 6 law enforcement failures, revealed this during an interview.

Loudermilk emphasized the specificity of threats and the consistency in warnings provided by multiple confidential human sources. He noted that the intelligence was serious enough to warrant more security and possibly even the cancellation of President Donald Trump's speech that day on the Ellipse.

The Georgia lawmaker stated that the intelligence reports came weeks and days in advance from about two dozen informants embedded in radical groups across the country. Many of these informants continued to assist the FBI after the event.

"I was surprised that we found this significant intelligence that was derived from these people embedded in these organizations," he said during an interview on the "Just the News, No Noise" television show. "There is no way that at least the Washington Field Office or the FBI headquarters was not aware that there were elements, not the entire crowd. There were elements of people coming to Washington, DC with the intent of attacking the Capitol of the United States."

Loudermilk credited current FBI Director Kash Patel and Attorney General Pam Bondi for granting him access to the intelligence reports. He mentioned that this opened a new avenue of inquiry into whether some elements within the FBI withheld information that could have helped Capitol Police better prepare for the violence.

"We're really having a hard time finding any tangible reports that were sent to the Capitol Police or other agencies. And so my question is, what did they know? When did they know it, and what did they do with the information?" he asked.

He added that the reports from these informants were not just one or two, but multiple sources from various organizations across different field offices nationwide, all reporting the same thing.

Armed Attacks and Antifa Concerns

Loudermilk explained that the informants made it clear to their FBI handlers that not only would there be violence in Washington, DC, at the Capitol on January 6, but the reports indicated it would be worse than what actually occurred.

He also confirmed that multiple informants told the FBI that groups were planning an armed attack on the Capitol, lawmakers, or law enforcement during the certification of the 2020 election results.

"There were elements, not every group that was there, but there were certain groups that were planning on an armed attack of the Capitol, and even against law enforcement if they got in the way," he disclosed.

It was revealed last year by the DOJ's internal watchdog that the FBI had as many as 26 confidential informants in the crowd on Jan. 6. Some of them had been passing on warnings about potential violence by right-leaning groups like the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers.

Additionally, Loudermilk revealed for the first time that one of the groups flagged by the FBI informants was the far-left anarchist group Antifa, which was recently designated a domestic terror group by Trump.

"The answer is yes, there was concerns that Antifa would be embedded within the crowds there," he said. "There were several references, again, not just isolated to one, but several different field offices, different organizations that were reporting that they had heard that Antifa would be embedded within the crowd."

FBI officials confirmed to the outlet that their informants warned of armed conflict and even Antifa, and that the reports have now been shared with Congress. Efforts are underway to declassify them so the public can see the long-hidden warnings.

Security Measures and National Guard Deployment

Capitol Police intelligence analysts did not receive intelligence warnings of major violence and were led to believe that Jan. 6 would look like prior peaceful Trump rallies. This assessment led to a smaller security footprint and the rejection of then-Capitol Police Chief Steve Sund's request for the National Guard to be deployed for extra security.

Loudermilk released last year a videotape of then-Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi admitting she should not have opposed the deployment of the National Guard.

Loudermilk said the intelligence and informants he has read four years later warrant a far more aggressive security plan than was deployed.

"There should have been even more security put in place. The National Guard should have been at the Capitol the first time Chief of Police, Steven Sund requested it, just based on that information," he said.

Since the revelation of the presence of FBI informants in the Jan. 6 crowd, some have questioned whether their presence had a nefarious intent. Loudermilk said the evidence he has seen leads him to the opposite conclusion, that the informants did a good job warning the FBI, but those warnings fell on deaf ears.

"They are all reporting the same thing, and it's just not prior to January 6. Some of them are reporting during January 6 and post reporting," he said. "And so that's what I found enlightening. They continue to report what was going on which increases their credibility, in my opinion, that they were trying to do the right thing."