Topline
Blake Masters—a controversial Trump-endorsed candidate in Arizona’s GOP Senate primary—suggested in March that many people at the January 6 Capitol riot may have worked for the FBI, according to audio obtained by CNN Wednesday, appearing to boost an evidence-free theory echoed by a range of Trump allies over the last year.
Trump supporters storm the U.S. Capitol following a rally with President Donald Trump on January 6, … [+]
Key Facts
During a meeting with voters, Masters reportedly said he backs investigating intelligence agencies, and wondered aloud: “Don’t we suspect that, like, one third of the people outside of the Capitol complex on January 6 were actual FBI agents hanging out?”
Masters then said to the group of conservatives in Phoenix, “What did people know and when did they know it? We got to get to the bottom of this.”
However, Masters’ prior comments on the 2020 election have drawn Trump’s attention: The former president endorsed Masters and praised his election skepticism last week, a move that could help Masters—who has earned significant financial backing from Thiel—break ahead in a tight three-way Republican primary.
Forbes has reached out to Masters’ campaign for comment.
What To Watch For
Masters will face off against entrepreneur Jim Lamon, Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich and several less prominent candidates in an August 2 primary. The winner will try to unseat incumbent Sen. Mark Kelly (D) in November.
Key Background
For months, baseless claims have circulated that the January 6 Capitol riot was organized by FBI agents, federal informants or left-wing provocateurs, even though hundreds of riot participants were enthusiastic Trump supporters. The former president—who has oscillated between condemning and applauding the events of January 6, 2021—offered a line of questioning similar to Masters’ at a rally earlier this year, asking “exactly how many of those present at the Capitol complex” were FBI informants or agents. In reality, most of the evidence cited for this theory is vague and speculative at best. Some Republicans think a Trump supporter named Ray Epps may have been an FBI informant, claiming shaky videos show Epps trying to incite crowds in D.C., but no evidence of ties to the FBI has emerged, and one alleged rioter told the FBI Epps actually tried to calm him down, the New York Times reported. Meanwhile, Fox News host Tucker Carlson has seized on the fact that many of the alleged rioters’ charging documents mention unnamed “unindicted co-conspirators,” who Carlson has speculated were informants. However, there are a range of innocent, mundane reasons why the FBI wouldn’t name or charge everybody who is referenced in a criminal indictment, and the FBI generally can’t call its informants co-conspirators, according to legal experts.
Further Reading
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/joewalsh/2022/06/08/trump-backed-senate-candidate-blake-masters-baselessly-suggests-jan-6-rioters-were-fbi-agents-report-says/