New court papers revealed another FBI informant in the Proud Boys inner circle, but this one became unusually close to the defendants and their families.
One issue that has repeatedly come up during the trial of five Proud Boys accused of sedition for their actions on January 6th is the use of FBI informants.
From the start of their defense case, lawyers argued the FBI had nearly ten informants within the organization.
One of the informants, from the Kansas chapter, was actually in the group that made it inside the Capitol.
The newly revealed informant is a Texas-based activist who went by the name Jen Loh.
She joined prayer meetings, made contact with defendants while they were jailed, and has been in contact with some defense lawyers on the case.
Carmen Hernandez, one of the defense attorneys, called Loh’s actions a “surreptitious invasion” of the Proud Boys’ defense team. She demanded the government expose what information it gained from informants speaking to the defense team.
Prosecutors deny Loh is acting on their orders. In an interview, Loh said the FBI hasn’t asked her any questions related to the trial.
“It’s hard to see people calling me a rat and a fed and things like that,” she said. “I think it’s sad that we’ve gotten so polarized in this country.”
The Proud Boys defense team has attempted to subpoena other informants as they maintain their evidence is exculpatory and contradicts the allegation that the Proud Boys went to Washington with a plan to storm the Capitol.
They have not yet succeeded in calling any to the stand. Their subpoenas have been denied because the informants stated their intent to use their Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.
The FBI’s informants were so entrenched in the organization, one of them known only as Danny Mac actually led a Proud Boys chapter in New Jersey.
The sheer number of informants in the case has stirred controversy among right-wing commentators who wonder if the bureau instigated the events on January 6th through proxies.
“There’s more C.H.S.s (confidential human sources aka informants) than there are defendants in this case,” said defense lawyer Sabino Jauregui.
