FBI May Have Up to 8 Informants: NYT

• Five members of Proud Boys, including its leader were charged by the DOJ with seditious conspiracies.
• Their lawyers want to dismiss the charges based upon information provided by government.
• NYT reports some of the information was about FBI informants inside Proud Boys.

According to court papers, the FBI may have had as many as eight informants within the far-right Proud Boys group at the time of the Capitol Riot. a New York Times report.

Five Proud Boys members who are facing seditious conspiracies charges in relation to the Capitol riot of January 6, 2021 filed a motion last Wednesday to either dismiss their indictment, or delay the trial.

In court documents, the lawyers argued in court that hundreds of pages from records withheld by government up to recently could contain information that may be “exculpatory”.

According to The New York Times’ reporting, there are eight FBI informants. The defense lawyers believe that some of these information could have been helpful in fighting sedition charges against their clients.

The Justice Department indicted Enrique Tarrio and Joseph Biggs, Ethan Nordean and Zachary Rehl as former Proud Boys leaders. Their trial is scheduled to begin on December 12.

Insider could not immediately verify the information regarding FBI informants contained in court documents filed by the defense lawyers within the past few days.

Nordean’s attorney, David B. Smith, stated in one filing that the government’s decision earlier this month to produce records “material for the defense” did not allow enough time to review the records or interview “relevant witnesses (perhaps 8 of them or more)” prior to his client’s December 12 trial.

Smith and J. Daniel Hull were not available for comment.

The Times previously reportedIt was revealed that a Proud Boy member was an FBI informant, and that the source was present at Capitol during the riot.

According to the report the informant met with Proud Boys on January 6, 2021. He also sent his FBI handler updates via text message as protestors broke into Capitol Building.

Although there is no evidence that the FBI was involved in the attack, many Republicans and conservative pundits believe so. including Tucker CarlsonThe theory was that federal agents were involved in inciting violence at the Capitol.

According to court documents, lawyers for the Proud Boys now claim “increasing doubtfulness, high unlikelihood” that their clients conspired to obstruct 2020 voter certification or commit sedition.