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Leaked DOJ Docs: FBI Informant Says Proud Boys Did Not Plan to Enter Capitol, Were There to Protect Trump Supporters

The Department of Justice is well aware that the Proud Boys who attended the Stop the Steal rally on January 6 were not violent and did not conspire to enter the Capitol—yet are prosecuting them on conspiracy charges anyway, FBI documents obtained by Gateway Pundit reveal.

Five members of the group are currently in pre-trial detention on federal charges: Enrique Tarrio, Joseph Biggs, Ethan Nordean, Dominic Pezzola and Zachary Rehl.

A whistleblower leaked “a treasure trove” of exculpatory documents, and text messages—some marked “Highly Sensitive”—to the Gateway Pundit reporter Cara Castronuova. “These documents would be buried forever and never see the light of day if they were not leaked to us by a brave whistleblower,” Castronuova wrote. “While the informant does provide an honest assessment of the activity of the group, the videos and photos he took all day long of the group and sent back to his bosses were ultimately used to conjure up a case to present before a Grand Jury and Indict these individuals.”

The document dump includes hundreds of pages of transcripts of audio-recorded interviews between federal law enforcement officials and an FBI Confidential Human Source (CHS).

The CHS—identified as James Ehren Knowles—reportedly infiltrated the Kansas City Proud Boy chapter for over a year and a half before the January 6th rally, and kept FBI headquarters informed on the group’s activities. Knowles reportedly gained the K.C. Proud Boys’ trust and was included in all group communications.

He accompanied the group to the Capitol on January 6th, and provided his handlers at the FBI with on the ground updates as the rally devolved into a riot. He told FBI headquarters that his group “were not involved in, nor did they inspire the breaking of the barriers at the Capitol building.”

Knowles described the chaos as protesters made their way into the Capitol building as “herd mentality,” rather than organized.

“There were no overt threats of violence made at that time,” he said.

Knowles told his superiors that the K.C. Proud Boys went to the Jan. 6 rally with the intention of protecting Trump Supporters from Antifa attacks so they could enjoy the day and “get back to their hotels safely.”

“Our role at the rally was supposed to be defense only,” Knowles told his handlers. “Defending them from Antifa—defend only from Antifa and BLM, and ourselves if under attack.”

He added: “This should go without saying that you shouldn’t be knocking around some faggot with pink hair, just because he calls you a Nazi.”

The informant told the FBI that the Proud Boys never talked about “stopping the electoral college or certification of the election,” and did not conspire to go inside the Capitol.

Despite this exculpatory evidence, all of the K.C. Proud Boys have since been indicted and are facing decades in prison, Castronuova reported.

A total of six people (including a woman who was pregnant at the time) are being charged with Conspiracy, Obstruction of an Official Proceeding and Aiding and Abetting (this carries a maximum 20 year penalty), Obstruction of Law Enforcement During Civil Disorder and Aiding and Abetting, Threatening a Federal Officer, Entering and Remaining in a Restricted Building or Grounds and Carrying a Deadly or Dangerous Weapon.

Not only was there no conspiracy, according to the informant, the Proud Boys actually helped law enforcement while inside the Capitol.

On page 15 of the FBI’s Jan. 6 “Reporting Document,” Knowles reports that a law enforcement officers seemed “grateful” and one even gave the the K.C. Proud Boys a thumbs up, as they worked to deescalate the situation, and clear the area of the more rambunctious people.

Confidential Human Source (CHS), a collaborative source with direct and indirect access, most of whose reporting has been corroborated , stated the following on 1/6/2021:

CHS stated that the KC Proud Boys (KCPB) in attendance at the rally entered the Capitol building 30 minutes after the building was breached to help deescalate Trump supporters and law enforcement. Once KCPB entered the building, they told people to stop acting like anarchists and leave. KCPB told the people to start bagging trash from where trash cans were thrown at law enforcement, along with a woman who was saying the same thing to protestors. KCPB told protestors to stop at the doors of the House of Representatives, and that their voice was heard and it was time to go. A law enforcement officer gave a thumbs up to KCPB, as they were trying to clear the area of people trying to fight law enforcement.

No one from KCPB were involved with the battery of a law enforcement officer, nor did anyone damage property in the capital building. KCPB then went back to a rental house and adhered to the curfew in place. CHS stated law enforcement seemed grateful as KCPB ushered individuals out of the building.

One member of KCPB told an older “hefty” white law enforcement that the “Proud Boys deescalated downstairs, they are clearing out.”

The informant reported that Proud Boy leaders instructed members to be non-violent, and in a “defensive and not offensive” posture on Jan. 6.

The informant’s testimony buttresses video evidence that was leaked online last week, revealing that the Proud Boys had no intention of going inside the Capitol, or engaging in “seditious conspiracy.” The video shows group members discussing logistics in a Zoom meeting ahead of the Jan. 6 rally.

In the video, Proud Boy leader Enrique Tarrio says: “We are never going to be the ones to cross the police barrier, or to cross something in order to get to somebody… We’re always going to be the ones standing back, right? We are always going to be the ones to f—king defend.”

Knowles identified one of the Proud Boys seen in video footage as Ryan Ashlock, a 23-year-old electrician from Gardner, Kansas. The informant described Ashlock as a very green new recruit to the organization.

“He’s just a first degree. They put him under my wing to kind of mentor him because he kept making people nervous,” Knowles said, adding, “he’s like on his last chance to not get, you know, removed from the process.”

Last month, Ashlock pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds. He faces “a maximum sentence of one year imprisonment, a $100,000 fine and one year of supervised release.”

However, the “first degree” Proud Boy did not enter the Capitol building, according to Knowles.

“He did not enter [the Capitol],” the informant told his FBI handlers. Knowles said Ashlock was ushered out of the rally after getting blasted in the face with some type of chemical spray.

“I found him in the middle of the crowd at one point like this because he couldn’t see, and I led him out,” Knowles said. “And he ended up having to—he left with another guy.”

“So he wasn’t in the Capitol Building?” an interviewer asked.

“He was not. He did not enter it,” replied the informant.  “I found him standing there [outside the Capitol] with his (indiscernible) saying I can’t see. And I led him out of the crowd there, and I started pouring water in his eyes.”

As part of the plea agreement, the Biden Justice Department dropped several other charges against the 23-year-old, “including conspiracy and civil disorder, which are felonies”—even though according to Knowles, there was no conspiracy.

Knowles said during the riot, Billy [William Chrestman] and another Proud Boy named Chris had yelled at people to “pick up trash” and not act like anarchists.

When asked whether there was any talk of going back to D.C. for another protest, Knowles said Billy wanted to go back, and was not concerned that he could be in any kind of trouble with the law.

“… I was talking to Billy a little bit on the phone (indiscernible), and I was like, you know, maybe we should have guys not go there for the next six months,” the informant said. “He goes ‘f—k that, I’m ready to go.'”

Knowles said he sent a video to Chrestman which includes footage of his activities during the protest.

“He was under the impression that they [the FBI] got so many bigger fish to fry, like you know, the things we did were more passive aggressive” like being “in the middle of all this picking up trash.”

Chrestman has been in pre-trial detention for over a year and a half on charges of Conspiracy; Obstruction of an Official Proceeding and Aiding and Abetting; Obstruction of Law Enforcement During Civil Disorder and Aiding and Abetting; Threatening a Federal Officer; Entering and Remaining in a Restricted Building or Grounds and Carrying a Deadly or Dangerous Weapon; Entering and Remaining in a Restricted Building or Grounds and Carrying a Deadly or Dangerous Weapon.

On July 2, a federal judge denied his request to await his trial outside of jail.

“This leak is unbelievable,” said Newsmax Host and J6 advocate John Tabacco. “I literally can’t believe what I am reading. It blows my mind that this is real. The extent of evil at play is just mind blowing.”

Tina Ryan of Citizens Against Political Persecution issued the following statement in reaction to the new documents.

The Department of Injustice has proven that they will stop at nothing to crush innocent and ordinary American Citizens like ants to fulfill their agenda. To them, Trump Supporters are collateral damage. They will ruin lives, destroy real families, hide exculpatory evidence from the public. Interfere in trials by publicizing false information about groups like the Proud Boys. It is only a matter of time before they come after you and me if we don’t stand up for our fellow American Citizens and demand justice.

They seriously will never stop until Trump quits and has no heir apparent,” said Ryan. “They won’t stop until they kill the Patriot movement and things return to the establishment norm.

The Proud Boys literally came to Trump rallies to protect peaceful protesters from radical left violent groups like Antifa. The Oath Keepers provided free security for groups that attended and conservatives public figures that were frequently attacked. They were literally heroes, and now they are all being charged with Sedition Conspiracy and tortured by their own government in pre-trial solitary confinement. They face a lifetime in prison. IT IS ABOUT TIME WE GET THEIR BACKS. If they can do it to these clubs, who is to say that next month they won’t decide to come for Latinos For Trump, or Veterans for America First, or you conservative club, your church group?

Stewart Rhodes, the founder and president of the Oath Keepers, told Gateway Pundit on Monday that the government has “hours and hours of interviews” like the Knowles debriefing.

“The problem is, that the DOJ doesn’t care,” Rhodes said. They already know the truth. The same goes for the so-called Select Committee. They know the truth too. They just indicted Michael Greene another innocent man… The problem is the DC government does not care.”

Stewart Rhodes has agreed to waive his Fifth Amendment rights and testify before the partisan January 6 Committee on the condition that they allow him to testify live.

The following “Highly Sensitive” audio transcripts contain hundreds of pages of Knowles’ debriefing:

1- Transcript.01.13.21, 2- Transcript.04.05.21, 3- Transcript.8.11.2021.Part 1,  4- Transcript.8.11.2021.Part 2

This leaked CHS “Reporting Document” summarizes the 4 transcripts. Gateway Pundit transcribed a more readable version HERE.

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About Debra Heine

Debra Heine is a conservative Catholic mom of six and longtime political pundit. She has written for several conservative news websites over the years, including Breitbart and PJ Media.

Photo: WASHINGTON DC - JANUARY 6: Members of the Proud Boys make a hand gesture while walking near the US Capitol in Washington, DC on Wednesday, January 6, 2021. (Amanda Andrade-Rhoades/For The Washington Post via Getty Images)