The FBI Director just tried to explain away the biggest January 6th bombshell yet.
His damage control mission backfired spectacularly.
And Kash Patel made one eyebrow raising January 6 claim that left everyone asking this question.
Patel’s "crowd control" excuse doesn’t add up
After 56 months of stonewalling, a leaked House report finally revealed that 274 FBI special agents were at the Capitol on January 6th.
The disclosure sent shockwaves through social media, racking up millions of views as Americans demanded answers about what those agents were actually doing.
FBI Director Kash Patel rushed to Fox News to contain the damage with one simple explanation: the agents were only there for "crowd control" after police declared a riot at 2:22 p.m.
But that claim immediately raised the most obvious question – where’s the proof?
Former January 6th defendant Larry Brock Jr. wasn’t buying Patel’s spin for one second.
"Where is the film of one agent doing crowd control? Where is one affidavit in court?" Brock demanded. "This story doesn’t fly. You definitely need a better PR team. There are cameras everywhere in D.C. Show us the videos of the Hoover building emptying."
The evidence doesn’t support Patel’s story
Here’s what makes Patel’s crowd control narrative fall apart under scrutiny.
The security footage shows FBI tactical teams flowing into the Capitol after 2:44 p.m. – but these were clearly marked SWAT teams, not plainclothes agents doing crowd control.
Video evidence shows FBI SWAT medics entered the Capitol at 2:49 p.m. and provided aid to the mortally wounded Ashli Babbitt, who had just been shot by Capitol Police Lieutenant Michael Byrd.
But where are the videos of 274 agents actually controlling crowds during the chaos?
There’s ample footage of marked FBI SWAT teams, ATF agents, U.S. Marshals, and Park Police sweeping the Capitol after 3 p.m.
What’s missing is any visual evidence of the massive plainclothes FBI presence that Patel claims was just doing crowd control.
The most noticeable plainclothes FBI presence on video comes after 6 p.m. – when no protesters were left in the Capitol Building.
Off-duty agents caught cheering raise more questions
The crowd control story gets even more suspicious when you look at what off-duty FBI agents were actually doing.
Court documents reveal that off-duty FBI Special Agent Baker Doughty was at the Capitol with two other off-duty agents, positioned on the House Egg area.
One of the active-duty FBI agents was caught on video clapping and cheering "This is huge" as protesters moved up the east steps around 2 p.m.
Does that sound like professional crowd control to you?
Former FBI agent John Guandolo provided an affidavit stating that Doughty and other FBI agents introduced him to several additional off-duty FBI agents at the Capitol that day.
If these agents were there for legitimate crowd control duties, why were they off-duty and why were they cheering with the protesters?
The official timeline exposes Patel’s deception
The most damning evidence against Patel’s crowd control claim comes from the official record itself.
The Capitol Police timeline makes no mention of FBI agents being requested or deployed for crowd control duties.
Compare that to how other agencies actually responded when called for help.
Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund specifically requested backup from Metropolitan Police at 12:58 p.m., and MPD officers rushed to the West Plaza at 1:12 p.m. to set up new police lines.
Sund asked for help from the Secret Service at 1:01 p.m. and requested ATF assistance at 1:40 p.m.
All of these requests are documented in the official timeline.
But somehow, 274 FBI agents just showed up for crowd control without being officially requested or deployed through proper channels?
Defense attorneys expose the real scandal
The most explosive aspect of this revelation isn’t what the agents were doing – it’s what the FBI hid from defense attorneys for years.
Attorney Bradford Geyer, who represented Oath Keeper Kenneth Harrelson, told Blaze News he made "over a dozen requests" for information about federal agents present on January 6th.
The FBI and Department of Justice refused every single request during hundreds of criminal cases.
"This was a mass entrapment scheme that was run and operated by the government," Geyer said. "We know that that’s what happened, but we’re not quite there yet."
Even if Patel’s crowd control story were true, the failure to disclose this information represents one of the biggest Brady violations in American legal history.
Prosecutors have a constitutional duty to turn over evidence that might help defendants – like the fact that 274 federal agents were embedded throughout the crowd.
The question everyone’s asking
Patel’s crowd control explanation raises the most obvious question that won’t go away: If these agents were there for legitimate law enforcement purposes, why hide it for 56 months?
Former January 6th defendant William Pope discovered that nearly 50 agents from the FBI and various agencies were working that day and later wrote arrest warrant affidavits for January 6th cases.
The same agents who were present during the events became the investigators and prosecutors of the people who were there.
Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah) noted that former FBI director Christopher Wray hid this bombshell information for four years.
Patel promised answers but delivered excuses
Back in May, Patel promised Maria Bartiromo on Fox News that Americans would get the full truth about January 6th.
"We’ve got answers coming. We just found a trove of information, and it’s on its way to Capitol Hill right now," Patel said at the time.
"You’re getting answers on what sourcing was utilized, what money was utilized, how many assets were utilized, who made those decisions – you’re getting it," he added.
When Bartiromo asked directly, "Were there FBI agents under cover egging people on?" Patel replied, "Like I said, that answer is coming, and it’s on its way to Congress."
No "trove of information" has been released since that May interview.
Instead, we got a damage control appearance with a crowd control excuse that raises more questions than it answers.
The credibility crisis deepens
The revelation of 274 FBI agents at the Capitol – and the subsequent cover-up – represents a massive credibility crisis for federal law enforcement.
President Trump immediately demanded accountability, writing on Truth Social that he wants to know "who each and every one of these so-called ‘Agents’ are, and what they were up to on that now ‘Historic’ Day."
Former January 6th prisoner John Strand put it best: "FBI provocateurs in the crowd. Peaceful Americans framed. Lives destroyed. The real criminals are those who weaponized our government."
After 56 months of lies and stonewalling, Patel’s crowd control claim feels like another attempt to hide the truth from the American people.
The question everyone’s asking isn’t going away: If 274 FBI agents were really just doing crowd control, why did it take a leaked report to force this admission?
The answer to that question might be the most important revelation yet about what really happened on January 6th.
¹ Joseph M. Hanneman and Steve Baker, "FBI Jan. 6 report sets off a firestorm: Why did it take 56 months to disclose 274 agents at Capitol?," The Blaze, September 29, 2025.
