There remains no evidence in the public record for secret involvement by federal agitators in propelling the violence seen around the Capitol on January 6, 2021. Yet, this lack of meaningful substantiation hasn’t stopped the conspiracy theory in far-right circles.
It spiked again after the recent, mass release of footage from January 6 at the Capitol by House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican. “Liz, we’ve seen footage like that a million times. You made sure we saw that—and nothing else. It’s the other stuff—what you deliberately hid from us—that we find so upsetting. Nice try. P.S. How many of these guys are feds? (As if you’d ever tell us),” Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) — a man in an elected position shared at any point by no more than 99 others — said on social media, responding to former GOP Congresswoman Liz Cheney having spotlighted footage of the violence of January 6.
“Hey @BasedMikeLee – heads up. A nutball conspiracy theorist appears to be posting from your account,” Cheney replied. She elaborated in another post, speaking to the foundational consistence of the factual record. “You’re a lawyer, Mike. You’re capable of understanding the scores of J6 verdicts & rulings in our federal courts,” the ex-legislator added. “You didn’t object to electors on J6 because you knew what Trump was doing was unconstitutional & you know what you’re doing now is wrong.”
FBI Director Christopher Wray categorically denied any conspiracy theory that feds secretly ran January 6 for entrapment purposes or anything else in a recent House hearing. “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,” Wray said. Rep. Clay Higgins (R-La.) insisted otherwise during the hearing, claiming in emphatic terms that seemingly plain buses pictured in an exhibit he brought were carrying secret feds. He presented no confirming evidence for this claim.
Hey @BasedMikeLee – heads up. A nutball conspiracy theorist appears to be posting from your account. https://t.co/N26lfzPZPU
— Liz Cheney (@Liz_Cheney) November 18, 2023
