Now that you know federal informants were in the US Capitol on Jan. 6, watch the videos

4 years later, videos capture odd behavior and scenarios

Part One: Play the video at this link

Part Two: Play the video at this link

In the videos you will see:

• Inside the Capitol, people dressed as Trump supporters are seen appearing from behind police lines

• They appear to be escorted

• They can be seen conferring with police

• Police then allowed them to position with the demonstrators, who had not been trying to break through police lines, where they became key instigators

• The instigators then took lead positions in breaking through the police lines and leading the crowd to the Speaker’s Lobby

• One of them was the lead figure who banged on the glass at the Speaker’s Lobby, leading to the US Capitol Police shooting and killing Ashli Babbitt

• That instigator was then, inexplicably, let behind the SWAT team line where police allowed him to dig through his backpack, apparently change clothes, and leave the premises

We are approaching the four year anniversary of the January 6, 2021 rally for Donald Trump and subsequent protest that bled into the US Capitol.

We now know numerous “confidential human sources” known to the FBI were present.

Logically, that much was always known…but now it has been officially confirmed by a recent Inspector General (IG) investigation.

Of course, we can assume we have only a slice of the whole truth, if recent history is our guide. The FBI has not been honest and forthcoming about many of its scandals and failures. To name but a few examples: FBI Director Christopher Wray has given false testimony to Congress about surveillance abuses. The FBI conspired with Democrats and the Hillary Clinton campaign to try to frame Donald Trump for Russia collusion. This included falsifying a document used to get a wiretap against a Trump campaign volunteer— a wiretap that gave the FBI access to Trump’s communications. The IG referred former FBI Director James Comey for criminal prosecution for his mishandling of information regarding President Trump, some of it classified, in his efforts to undermine Trump. (Unsurprisingly, the DOJ took a pass on the prosecution referral.) And the agency used armed SWAT teams to raid homes of cooperative, nonviolent January 6 suspects.

So it’s hard to take at face value anything the FBI may have admitted to in terms of numbers of agents or sources on site, and their supposed role.

On a related note, there were other government agents, sources, and undercover operators besides the FBI’s on January 6. For example, Maryland law enforcement testified to Congress that they had plainclothes officers in the crowd. To date, there has been no comprehensive disclosure of which federal and local law enforcement or intelligence agencies had involvement that day.

Unfortunately, we can also assume that if the intention of any on site government agents or sources were nefarious or dishonorable, the governing officials would seek to cover that up rather that admit it.

So the question has long remained: Were there any sources or agents who acted improperly as instigators in order to gin up the January 6 crowd, encourage them to break through police lines, or lead them to the House Speaker’s lobby where one key instigator beat against the glass, just before a Capitol police lieutenant shot and killed an unarmed Trump supporter there named Ashli Babbitt.

In a two part investigation on my television program Full Measure, I analyzed video inside the US Capitol that shows people dressed like Trump supporters, but who appeared on the scene from behind police lines, sometimes with apparent escorts. These people can be seen conferring with police. Then, for some reason, the police allow them to join the crowd of Trump supporters where they become key instigators in forward positions, leading the crowd through police lines.

Perhaps the strangest scenario is when one of these instigators makes a radical transformation the moment after Babbitt is shot. He goes from beating the window to the Speaker’s Lobby, and leading the entire crowd in the protest, to running and cowering for apparent cover with the Emergency Response Team (ERT) that was standing by. For reasons unexplained, the ERT allows this supposedly dangerous instigator, moments after the shooting, behind their line, where they appear to help block him from public view while he digs through his backpack and changes clothing. Then, they apparently allow him to leave the premises, for reasons still unexplained. (He was later arrested and prosecuted after the media publicized video of him taking part in violence, though some observers question whether he had been acting at the behest of a government or law enforcement entity.)

Even if you happened to see my two part Full Measure investigation on television a couple of years ago, it’s worth revisiting now in the context of information that has come to light.

Read on for details and links to the videos.

Part One: Play the video at this link. Transcript below.

We begin with a look into the role of key instigators and police in the January 6, 2021 U.S. Capitol protests. Authorities haven’t provided answers about the role of undercover agents and informants in the crowd that day. A Rasmussen Reports survey found 65% of likely voters say they think undercover government agents likely helped provoke the riots. We review key moments on video with law enforcement experts who ask, why did police inexplicably stand by and allow some demonstrators to drive the crowd to violence? Today, the results of our yearlong investigation.

Untold thousands attended the massive pro-Trump rally on January 6, 2021, questioning the overnight, come-from-behind victory for Joe Biden.

President Donald Trump (January 6, 2021): I know that everyone here will soon be marching over to the Capitol building to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard.

The vast majority were peaceful. But some became violent. More than 1,000 have been arrested in the largest mass prosecution of our time. A persistent unanswered question: did the same government agencies whose officials conspired against Trump, including an FBI attorney convicted after falsifying evidence, use January 6th to try to do more political damage?

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) (July 12 Congressional hearing): How many individuals were either FBI employees or people that the FBI had made contact with were in the January 6th entry of the Capitol and surrounding area?

Christoper Wray/ FBI Director: So I really need to be careful here, talking about where we have or have not used confidential human sources.

Our Full Measure investigation examined video taken inside the U.S. Capitol by Black Lives Matter supporter and activist John Sullivan, who admits he was there impersonating a Trump supporter. In an earlier video — now removed from the Internet — Sullivan urges a crowd of supporters to attempt a violent coup against then-President Trump.

John Sullivan (August 2020/Washington DC) : We gotta f—in' rip Trump outta that office right over there, f—in' pull him out that s—. Naw naw we ain't about f—in' waitin' 'til that next election, we 'bout to go get that mother f—er. I ain't about that s—.

Five months later, on January 6, 2021, Sullivan recording this video at the Capitol pretending to be a Trump supporter...

Sullivan: We took this s—.

...heard from behind the camera instigating others.

Sullivan: Let me through, I got a knife. I got a knife.

Sullivan’s video inadvertently shed light on key moments and key players in action. More than a dozen FBI agents and other authorities analyzed the video for our investigation. Two agreed to appear on camera.

John Dodson, the federal agent who blew the whistle on the government’s Fast and Furious scandal in 2011, a secret operation under the Justice Department that put thousands of weapons into the hands of Mexico’s drug cartels.

Stephen Friend made news last year as an FBI Special Agent who refused to take part in SWAT raids of non-violent January 6 suspects and blew the whistle on what he sees as the FBI’s political slant.

Both have extensive experience working undercover with informants.

Sharyl: We would expect there to be federal law enforcement and maybe local law enforcement undercover in this crowd. What would cross a line? What are you not supposed to do?

Dodson: Well, you can't incite violence or incite a riot. You can't smash a door down and then have everyone come in and then charge everyone with trespassing. You're not supposed to, you know, hype people up to a frenzy, to the point where they're — where otherwise law-abiding citizen is going to violate the law. And, so there are rules on all these things. But primarily your job there, whether you're an undercover law enforcement officer or you're an informant or confidential human source, you’re supposed to observe and report real-time intelligence back to your handler so that they can make the decisions and get the assets in place that are needed to control the situation, not to incite it and let it go out of control.

On the video, authorities didn’t follow routine procedures to defuse the situation by quickly separating leaders and instigators from the crowd. That was a pattern identified by our analysts.

Two instigators surprisingly appear from behind police lines. Other demonstrators are seen briefly joining police on or behind the line, conferring in a familiar way, before leading the crowd in pushing past police. We’ll review three pivotal moments.

In the first scenario the man in a knit cap and blue jacket with his back to us appears and engages an officer.

Dodson: I think it's odd the way that either he feels comfortable enough or the officer feels comfortable enough to allow him to come in so close and almost whisper to him or talk quietly. You’re holding a line. Like, that's your job while you're there. So you maintain a distance of safety and a reactionary distance where, in case things get bad instantly, you can do that. But it looks like that's vacated here.

A supervisor tells police and the knit-cap man to “hold.”

Police supervisor: Just hold everybody. Hold. Hold.

Seconds later, a man dressed as a Trump supporter with a beard and flag — we’ll call him "Santa Claus" — appears from behind the police line with an apparent escort. The escort goes on to join the police line.

Dodson: Wondering where the individual came from that came from behind their line, and to just, for him to have free rein standing along behind them? And the other individual that escorted him there just kind of disappeared forward of the line. So, it’s strange why, if you're holding off a section of a building or any area for a protest or anything like that, that you allow people to mingle around behind you. Even if they somehow manage to get there, once you notice that they're there, you should immediately place them on the other side of the line.

"Santa Claus" blends into the scene by joining "knit-cap man" engaging the officer. Within seconds, the two men push past police and lead the crowd through.

Friend: The "knit-cap man" is still very angry and very determined. He's very resolute in the way that he walks down this hallway. When he comes to this juncture here, there's no looking either way, left or right, trying to figure out where you're gonna go. He is beeline straight for his destination, which to me seems like he knows where he's going, which is very unusual for a regular person.

The second scene we focus on happens a few minutes later. This man with thinning hair works his way to the front of the crowd and, along with the man in the red cap, they aggressively beckon authorities and confer with them.

"Thin-hair man" is allowed behind the police line where he has extensive discussions with the Capitol sergeant at arms law enforcement official in the dark suit. That official leaves the conversation and appears to give instructions to two people who scurry down the hall.

Two minutes later, another instigator is about to appear — again from behind police lines. You can't see him yet, but you'll see him in a moment. He appears to be escorted by that sergeant at arms official here, and also by police who — instead of arresting him — guide him toward the crowd. He's wearing an earmuff hat.

Dodson: Let's see, he's almost like, overacting. It's embarrassing. Yeah, where does he come from? And why does he walk through? And if he's already, you know, breached one significant area or a control area that you have control over, why isn't he arrested and immediately removed from the scene then?

"Earmuff man" — you’re seeing the back of his head here — calmly confers multiple times with an officer who points directionally. There’s more chatting with the officer. And then, "Earmuff Man" suddenly changes demeanor, starts acting out again, and is allowed to join the protesters in a lead position.

Friend: There just was some basic safety protocols that were not being followed. And that is escorting individuals who you perceive to be potentially violent agitators and allowing them to go through your ranks and stand behind you when you're not able to keep eyes on them, unsecured. It’s allowing those individuals to, those agitators to lead the group, almost like a Pied Piper style, through the Capitol. Those are all problems that could be easily rectified by taking that person out of the equation, removing them, arresting them. It's just very unusual that he's sort of allowed back from behind the lines. And then, when he is pushed to the group, and they've sort of put him in the lead position, which is unusual.

A man with gray hair, dressed as a Trump supporter, is allowed behind the police line, where he talks to police and even joins them facing protesters. In a matter of just a couple of minutes, these key figures, who'd all once been allowed on the police side of the line are about to break through the police line together and lead the crowd further toward the Speaker’s Lobby where Congress is meeting to certify the 2020 election results. There's the gray-haired man, he's first. That’s "thin-hair man" and "earmuff man".

Dodson: The first thing you gotta do is you gotta get rid of the troublemakers.

Sharyl: I didn't see key provocateurs removed from the crowd. In fact, the key provocateurs in this case seem to be sort of tolerated, if not encouraged, by some of the police officers on the front line.

Dodson: They were definitely tolerated.

Sharyl (on-camera): In a moment, our exclusive investigation continues as we track the behavior of key instigators and police at the scene where an unarmed protestor was shot and killed.

Part Two: Play the video at this link. Transcript below.

We continue our examination of the January 6 protests. We've already seen key violent instigators on video allowed behind police lines, consulting with law enforcement, and permitted to take a lead in the crowd where they push past police. We pick up now with some of them leading a group to the fatal scene where a Capitol police lieutenant shoots and kills unarmed protestor Ashli Babbitt.

Now outside the House floor, our analysts note numerous protesters using hand signals.

John Dodson: So, watch his hand.

Stephen Friend: Yeah. He's identifying somebody.

Dodson: Yeah, he's picking somebody out in the crowd and pointing to them up there.

Friend: He is signaling somebody. And there's another fist up right now. So there's multiple people that are doing the fist.

Some ten minutes after "Earmuff Man" first appeared on the video from behind the police line and blended in with the crowd, he’s the key instigator outside a hallway called the Speaker’s Lobby. Notice the officer doesn’t react or pull away when "Earmuff Man" grabs him by the hand. A police team in riot gear arrives. They’re nearby off-camera, and three officers guarding the Speaker's Lobby suddenly walk off.

Friend: And immediately they all walk away.

Dodson: I'd love to know why or who gave the order for them to abandon that post. Everything seemed calm. They had it under control. They were holding their line. And then they forfeited, and I don't know why.

"Earmuff Man" removes his hat and mask and takes the lead, beating on the glass with a helmet as police and a sergeant at arms official watch. The gun of Capitol Police Lieutenant Michael Byrd can be seen. He fires, killing an unarmed protester named Ashli Babbitt as she climbs through a broken window.

"Earmuff Man" immediately runs behind the line of police in riot gear who are watching, positioned on a staircase just steps away, and they let him in. Though he was a violent leader just moments before, he can be seen speaking with and touching officers who then allow him to crouch and dig through his backpack as they turn their backs to him.

Friend: Yeah, that's an emergency response team. So they're not there to negotiate with you. They're there to put you on the ground. But they're letting him back.

Dodson: If you look down there now, so he's changing his shirt.

Friend: He's getting things or putting things in his bag.

Sharyl: So in police training, would you ever let a demonstrator after a shooting come behind your line and turn your back on him, dig through his backpack?

Friend: No.

Dodson: No

Friend: No.

Dodson: He's gonna be controlled. Firstly, if he's behind the line, it's because we want him there, and then he's gonna have somebody with him. He's gonna have somebody probably on top of him.

Sharyl: If he were a demonstrator?

Dodson: Right, yeah. Literally. If I need to talk to him, hold onto him, and we pass him to the back, then they're holding onto him very, very securely until it's over with and we're done talking to him.

Sharyl: What does this scene say to you?

Dodson: He obviously has free range to do — now I understand it's a very dynamic situation. There's a lot going on. But for all these, you know, emergency response team or rapid reaction team to just keep passing him back to no one and allow him to go digging through that bag in the stairwell, it raises a lot of questions.

Sharyl: Tell me about procedure and what you see here?

Friend: He would've been passed down the steps and restrained. He might have handcuffs, zip ties on him, if he was somebody that you were passing down the line. If he was a crowd control issue, he's certainly within lunging distance for these guys. They're clearly comfortable with him being there. The last guy on the line doesn't even have his face towards him. He's got his back towards him.

"Earmuff Man" wasn’t arrested that day. But images of him breaking the glass before Ashli Babbitt was shot were shown on the news and online. Amid the public uproar, he was arrested about a month later. His name: Zachary Alam. His indictment didn’t explain why he took a lead that day, or mention any evidence he’s a Trump supporter.

We asked the Justice Department to help identify and provide context for key instigators seen on camera, but they declined. Lawyers representing Alam didn’t return calls. He now awaits January sentencing on 10 criminal convictions.

A Justice Department press release says Alam had roamed violently around the Capitol on January 6 until he was quote “corralled” in that hallway, where police inexplicably allowed him to join the crowd and become a leader.

More questions are raised by a high-ranking law enforcement source that day. He tells Full Measure that, for the first time he knows of, Capitol police weren’t given the standard intelligence briefing telling which intelligence agencies, officers, and informants would be in the crowd on January 6.

And last month, former Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund testified that, in a deviation from normal practice, undercover officers from other departments were embedded without his knowledge.

Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-GA) (September 19 Congressional hearing): We actually have evidence and records indicating plainclothes MPD officers were on Capitol grounds on January 6, and you're saying you weren’t aware that they would have embedded those officers within the crowd? They didn't make you aware of that?

Steven Sund: No sir, they did not make me aware of it.

FBI Director Christopher Wray has gone on record denying his agency played any improper role.

Christopher Wray/FBI Director (July 12): I will say that this notion that somehow the violence at the Capitol on January 6 was part of some operation orchestrated by FBI sources and agents is ludicrous and is a disservice to our brave, hardworking, dedicated men and women.

Sharyl: Is it a rational question to ask, whether those people were working with the federal agencies or with police?

Friend: Yes, it's absolutely a completely reasonable question. What, could they have been an informant? Perhaps. Could they have been an undercover? You never know. I don't think that this is a perfect puzzle where all the pieces go together. I do think though, that there were some just blatant behaviors that day that were not normal — they were very unnatural — that necessitate a full, transparent, and open investigation by the individuals that are positioned to do that in government and by individuals such as yourself in media who should have access to that footage so that they can present it to the American people.

Sharyl (on-camera): Democrats in Congress withheld the full Capitol videos. After Republicans won control of the House in 2022, they also withheld the video, but recently established strict processes for who they say can view parts of the video in private and make requests for clips.