Revelations of the sheer number of FBI informants involved in the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot have shaken a trial of members of the Proud Boys in Washington, DC, as one FBI informant had infiltrated the defense team.
As Julie Kelly, who has covered the January 6 trials extensively, reports, there are at least ten informants now known to have been involved in the Proud Boys — more than twice the five defendants who are on trial.
One shocking revelation last week was that one FBI informant, Jen Loh, a member of Latinos for Trump, had been in close contact with the defendants and their legal team throughout the trial, potentially compromising their constitutional rights.
If the government had spied on discussions among the defendants and their lawyers by using an informant, that would violate the attorney-client privilege and the Sixth Amendment.
One need not engage in conspiracy theories to seek information about role of informants in various criminal cases. Also, informants infiltrating defense teams raises serious justice issues, doesn't it? https://t.co/8BlbhMg0hH
— Byron York (@ByronYork) March 26, 2023
CNN reported:
Over the past year, Texas woman Jen Loh has been in touch with several Proud Boys now on trial for seditious conspiracy, talking with the members of the far-right group and their defense counsel about the case and suggesting possible witnesses and attorneys who could help.
All the while, Loh was also a paid FBI informant.
That revelation threw a wrench into the ongoing trial this week in federal court in Washington, DC, when defense counsel learned of her relationship with the government.
The defense objected to the continuation of the trial until the prosecution told Judge Timothy Kelly, an appointee of President Donald Trump, that Loh had not informed them about the defense in the trial.
Defense attorneys are scheduled to question Loh on Monday. But questions are growing about the extent to which FBI informants knew about the Capitol riot, and may have encouraged the crowd during the riot.
Many of the defendants in January 6-related prosecutions who have pleaded guilty have acknowledged that they alone decided to trespass or to commit other crimes. However, the role of informants remains unclear.
Some Trump supporters have claimed, incorrectly, that the riot was fomented by left-wing groups, or that it was entirely orchestrated by the FBI. But the shroud of secrecy surrounding FBI informants has fueled such claims.
Trump himself has argued that he urged Congress to accept National Guard help in the days leading up to Jan. 6, but that then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) declined.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the new biography, Rhoda: ‘Comrade Kadalie, You Are Out of Order’. He is also the author of the recent e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
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