FBI Devoted at Least 16,000 More Hours to Jan. 6 Riot Than to BLM Riots in DC

[Ubiquitous]

FBI agents worked about 16,000 more hours during the pay period of the
Capitol riot of Jan. 6, 2021, than they did during the pay period of
the 2020 riots that hit Washington, D.C.

That’s according to documents obtained by The Heritage Foundation’s
Oversight Project through the Freedom of Information Act. (The Daily
Signal is the news outlet of Heritage Foundation.)

FBI Payroll records show agents in WFO worked 86,262 hours
from the Jan 4-17, 2021 pay period. Compared with the May 25-
June 7, 2020 pay period (when BLM riots began in DC) WFO
agents worked 70,367.25 hours.

— Oversight Project (@OversightPR) March 20, 2023

Payroll records for FBI agents in the Washington, D.C., field office
show they worked a total of 86,262 hours in the Jan 4, 2021, to Jan.
17, 2021, pay period, during which the Capitol riot occurred involving
those opposing Congress’ certification of the 2020 presidential
election in which Joe Biden defeated then-President Donald Trump. Trump
alleged irregularities and did not immediately concede the race.

By contrast, during the May 25, 2020, to June 7, 2020, pay period, when
the Black Lives Matter and Antifa riots were occurring in the District
of Columbia, payroll records show that FBI agents worked a combined
total of 70,367 hours.

On May 29, 2020, BLM rioters forced President Trump into the
White House bunker and burned a historic church. During the
first week of the 2020 riots, 150 local & federal LEOs in DC
were injured. The summer 2020 riots led to $2 billion in
property damage & killed at least 19
pic.twitter.com/4gZfEYgUyZ

— Oversight Project (@OversightPR) March 20, 2023

It was on May 29, 2020, at Lafayette Square in Washington, D.C., that
rioters gathered near the White House and set fire to the historic St.
John’s Episcopal Church. The violence outside the White House prompted
the Secret Service to move Trump and others into the White House
bunker.

The FBI did not provide information about how many of the more than
86,000 hours were spent on Jan. 6 cases alone, according to the
Heritage Oversight Project, which is suing for more transparency.

The Heritage Oversight Project obtained FBI records that show the time
spent on all investigations. According to whistleblowers, FBI agents
were said to have been pulled off serious felony investigations to work
nearly solely on Jan. 6 misdemeanors.

“We’re suing the FBI because they deserve it, and because these
documents belong to the American people,” Mike Howell, director of the
Heritage Oversight Project, told The Daily Signal.

“It’s clear the FBI and Justice Department have been weaponized,”
Howell added. “These numbers show the lengths they will go to to surge
resources towards nonviolent offenses that fit their political
narratives. In the midst of a [George] Soros-funded crime wave, law
enforcement should focus their resources where they are needed and put
an end to the gangs, rapes, carjackings, and murders that have become
all too common.”

Under the Freedom of Information Act, most government documents are
presumed open to the public, with some specific exceptions.

We sought records to answer one core question: How many of the
86,262 hours were spent on Jan 6 cases? The FBI has refused to
provide this information so we sued them. Stay tuned for more
documents as we rip them out of the FBI.

— Oversight Project (@OversightPR) March 20, 2023

In the first week of the 2020 riots, about 150 local and federal law
enforcement officers were injured in the District of Columbia. The 2020
riots ultimately incurred $2 billion in property damage nationally and
resulted in at least 19 deaths, according to news reports.

The FBI did not immediately respond to an inquiry from The Daily Signal
for this story.

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Let's go Brandon!