Among Those Who Marched Into the Capitol on Jan. 6: An F.B.I. Informant

The records describing the informant's account of Jan. 6 - excerpts from his interviews and communications with the F.B.I. before, during and after the riot - dovetail with assertions made by defense lawyers who have argued that even though several Proud Boys broke into the Capitol, the group did not arrive in Washington with a preset plot to storm the building.

The records - provided to The Times on the condition that they not be directly quoted - show the F.B.I. was investigating at least two other participants in the rally on Jan. 6 and asked the informant to make contact with them, suggesting that they might be Proud Boys.

The records show that the informant traveled to Washington at his own volition, not at the request of the F.B.I. The question of whether extremist groups like the Proud Boys conspired in advance of Jan. 6 to organize the worst assault on the Capitol in more than 200 years is one of the most important avenues of inquiry being pursued by the authorities.

In one of the chats, written the night before the riot, a Proud Boys leader told his troops to be decentralized and use good judgment, adding, "Cops are the primary threat." But statements from the informant appear to counter the government's assertion that the Proud Boys organized for an offensive assault on the Capitol intended to stop the peaceful transition from Mr. Trump to Mr. Biden.

The records show that, after driving to Washington and checking into an Airbnb in Virginia on Jan. 5, the informant spent most of Jan. 6 with other Proud Boys, including some who have been charged in the attack.

While the informant mentioned seeing Proud Boys leaders that day, like Ethan Nordean, who has also been charged, there is no indication that he was directly involved with any Proud Boys in leadership positions.

In a detailed account of his activities contained in the records, the informant, who was part of a group chat of other Proud Boys, described meeting up with scores of men from chapters around the country at 10 a.m. on Jan. 6 at the Washington Monument and eventually marching to the Capitol.

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