‘Of course the Maga cult is blaming 26 FBI agents’: MAGA continues claiming January 6 was orchestrated by the FBI

MAGA is twisting details of a new report that confirmed several FBI informants were present in the crowd to support their attempts to pin the January 6 insurrection on the FBI.

It is going on four years since the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol took place. In those four years, Donald Trump and MAGA have continuously tried to evade responsibility for the incident in which the former U.S. president incited an insurrection and defied democracy by trying to overturn the results of the U.S. election. Trump and MAGA have alternated between suggesting that January 6 was a good thing and claiming that it was an “inside job” or staged event. During his campaign, the president-elect shocked citizens when he began claiming that January 6 was a “day of love” and that the violent insurrectionists were “patriots.” Additionally, he and several GOP members of Congress have also touted the far-right’s conspiracy of a “fedsurrection,” in which they insist that a few undercover FBI agents incited the violence.

There’s no evidence to suggest that the FBI played a role in the insurrection whatsoever. Even if the outlandish theory was true and some “undercover” agents riled people up, how does that somehow excuse the violent MAGA rioters who, among dozens of other crimes, jumped through Capitol windows and tried to gouge out police officers’ eyes? Still, MAGA continues touting the fedsurrection claim and is now trying to twist details of a report that actually debunks their theory.

MAGA trends “26 FBI” even though no FBI were at January 6

A January 6 probe recently confirmed that no undercover FBI agents were present at the insurrection. However, it did confirm that 26 paid FBI informants were at the event. Only three of these informants were specifically tasked by the FBI to attend the event and gather intelligence on potential domestic terrorism. The other 23 informants went to the gathering of their own accord, presumably to gather intelligence. Those informants who the FBI tasked with going to the Capitol were not told to break the law or encourage anyone else to do so. None of the informants were charged with any crimes or wrongdoing. In fact, several did send information they gathered on groups like the Proud Boys and have even testified in criminal trials.

The FBI has never tried to hide that these informants were present. However, FBI Director Christopher Wray has confirmed that the FBI had nothing to do with inciting violence. He stated, “If you are asking whether the violence at the Capitol on January 6 was part of some operation orchestrated by FBI sources and/or agents, the answer is emphatically no. This is not violence orchestrated by FBI sources or agents.” The probe debunked MAGA’s conspiracies because it confirmed that no undercover FBI agents were present at the event. FBI informants are not the same as undercover agents, but those informants were confirmed not to have broken any laws at the event.

However, MAGA simply saw the number “26” and the word “FBI” and instantly began claiming that 26 FBI agents were at the Capitol and responsible for thousands of Trump supporters committing violent crimes and breaching the Capitol. “26 FBI” began trending on X as MAGA insisted that they’re now somehow exonerated for their violent insurrection. Fortunately, many other users called them out for “blaming 26 FBI agents for J6.” Even if the report had found 100 FBI agents at the Capitol, it doesn’t mean that the thousands of violent people who rushed the Capitol and tried to overturn an election aren’t responsible for their own actions.

Investigations also found evidence that the attack was preplanned. Hundreds of MAGA followers showed up with specific plans they outlined on social media platforms like Parler to commit violence and break the law. There was never any need for the FBI to “incite” anything because MAGA already knew what it was going to do days in advance. MAGA can whine about 26 nonexistent FBI agents all they want, but they will never be able to rewrite history. They will always be known as the movement that tried to overthrow democracy.