A successful conspiracy should be limited in the number of people involved.  They must be highly intelligent and free from the need to feed their egos by revealing how important they are.  The events surrounding the Jan. 6 "insurrection" met none of these criteria.  Hundreds of organizations were involved, and responsible officials contradicted each other. 

The approved narrative: Because Donald Trump falsely claimed that the election was stolen, he incited his white supremacist followers to invade the Capitol in an attempt to overthrow the government.  Sen. Gary Peters described it as a "direct attack on our democracy."  This provided proof that white supremacists were a real threat.  It also eclipsed the BLM and Antifa riot bad press.  The FBI reported that there was no indication that individuals associated with Antifa disguised themselves among pro-Trump supporters in order to provoke the mob at the U.S. Capitol.  Reason magazine admitted there was a single one, but "the existence of one person vaguely connected to antifa does not establish that antifa was ultimately culpable for what transpired."

The disturbance at the Capitol on Jan. 6 is routinely described as a "deadly insurrection."  The riots that took place during the summer and caused between 1 and 2 billion dollars in damage and at least 17 deaths are described as "peaceful."  The only death that can be attributed directly to the violence on Jan. 6 was the death of a woman shot by police in violation of any law enforcement's rules of engagement.  It is clear that the government and the Deep State media are not giving an accurate picture of what took place.

You did not need a crystal ball to know that violent groups would use the gathering to promote violence.  Past experience with mass gatherings, such as Trump's inauguration in 2017, should have required increased security.  

Yet, according to the Washington Post, "Capitol Police did not take the kind of extra precautions, such as frozen zones and hardened barriers, that are typically used for major events near the Capitol."  Former House sergeant at arms Paul Irving said, "We all believed that the plan met the threat and that we were prepared."  Some of their confidence was based on previous Trump rallies.  Trump-supporters had held dozens of mass meetings in the recent past.  Police were assaulted in none of them.  Former Capitol Police chief Steven Sund claimed, "The intelligence that we based our planning on indicated that the Jan. 6 protests were expected to be similar to the previous [peaceful] MAGA rallies in 2020, which drew tens of thousands of participants."  However, Sund remarked, "I witnessed insurgents beating police officers with fists, pipes, sticks, bats, metal barricades and flag poles."  This version of the account does not match with other claims.  Metro Police chief Robert Contee testified that Sund "pleaded" with military officials to send in the National Guard.  He warned Congress six times about the high risk of violence before Jan. 6.   John Falcicchio, chief of staff for D.C. mayor Muriel E. Bowser, claimed, "Literally, this guy is on the phone, I mean, crying out for help.  It's burned in my memories."

There is evidence that the FBI withheld intelligence from the responsible parties prior to Jan. 6.  Steven Sund told lawmakers he did not receive a copy of an FBI report warning of violence that was issued the day before the attack on the Capitol."  It had been sent to the police but was not forwarded to Sund.  Sund testified that on "January 5th, during a meeting I hosted with my executive team, the Capitol Police board and a dozen of the top law enforcement and military officials from D.C., no entity, including the FBI, provided any new intelligence regarding Jan. 6."  

According to the Washington Post, the warning that extremists were preparing to commit violence and "war" contradicted senior officials' declaration that the bureau had no intelligence indicating that anyone planned on violence.  There was a plethora of evidence that Antifa and other extremist groups planned on hijacking the Trump rally.  Millie Weaver provides an extensive record of extremist plans to disrupt the event.  Is it possible that a 29-year-old is a more capable investigator than a multi-billion-dollar intelligence complex?

The FBI said there was no indication that individuals associated with Antifa disguised themselves among pro-Trump supporters in order to provoke the mob at the U.S. Capitol.  The head of the FBI's Washington Field Office, Steven D'Antuono, told reporters that the agency did not have intelligence suggesting that the pro-Trump rally would be anything more than a lawful demonstration.  During his congressional testimony, FBI director Chris Wray was asked whether Antifa members participated in the Jan. 6 riot.  Wray said the FBI "has seen no evidence" of Antifa participating.

Sen. Ron Johnson had a totally different take on the affair.  According to The Hill, "Sen. Johnson read from an unverified eyewitness account raising unproven claims about 'provocateurs' and people pretending to be supporters of former President Trump participating in the riot."  The Hill stressed "unverified" and "unproven."  For this he was ridiculed.  Sen. Amy Klobuchar remarked, "Ron Johnson has again engaged in a conspiracy theory — that's what he does."  Johnson was basing his remarks on the work of J. Michael Waller, senior analyst for strategy at the Center for Security Policy, and war correspondent Michael Yon.  Yon claimed, "What we've seen so far .. Antifa clearly led the attack."  Would the leaders of Antifa forgo an opportunity to disrupt a Trump event?  It was reported that "[t]here was a conspicuous absence of the usual left-wing suspects that are typically drawn to large right-wing gatherings, such as Antifa and Black Lives Matters leaders."  Had Antifa decided to go on vacation?

Thanks to Project Veritas, we have information about the methods used to disrupt events.  In 2016, two top Democratic strategists were recorded talking about planting agitators at Trump events: Robert Creamer, founder of Democracy Advocates, and Scott Foval of Americans United for Change.

Foval talked about how "we have to have a central kind of agitator training."  He bragged, "We've been busing people in to deal with you f------ a------- for 50 years, and we're not going to stop now," and he claimed that his paid agitators fueled a Chicago protest that forced the Trump campaign to cancel its event.  

Creamer said: "Wherever Trump and Pence are going to be, we have events.  And we have a whole team across the country that does that."  Foval said he has training centers in New York, Washington, Las Vegas, Colorado, and Minneapolis.

Nancy Pelosi is demanding that we get to the bottom of this.  She has formed a commission to investigate, headed by Lt. General Russel Honoré.  While this investigation is in progress, all questions will have to wait.  

The FBI will naturally conduct its own investigations.  

Following the August attack on Sen. Rand Paul, the senator requested an investigation on who was financing people from out of state to fly to D.C. and stay at first-class hotels.  Nothing came of this, and nothing will come of the investigation into the Jan. 6 events.  The events of Jan. 6 must be covered up.  It is quite possible that the riot was conducted with the full knowledge of the FBI and the congressional leadership.  Were Nancy Pelosi and Mitch McConnell curious about what might happen on Jan. 6?  Did they not have access to the FBI's intelligence?  The FBI has infiltrated many of these groups.  The Proud Boys, labeled a dangerous "white supremacist" group by U.S. agencies, is led by Enrique Tarrio, an Afro-Cuban FBI informant.

The entire scheme is revealed by a Time magazine article.  It is referred to as "the inside story of the conspiracy to save the 2020 election."  The authors do not shy away from the term "conspiracy."  The article reveals how Mike Podhorzer, a senior adviser to the president of the AFL-CIO, organized efforts to influence the 2020 election.  Podhorzer formed a coalition of more than 150 liberal groups.  These included "racial-justice activists and others."  Podhorzer directed the activist groups to "stand down."  They followed his instructions.  We know from the Time magazine article that there was a vast coalition working on this conspiracy.  Were the FBI and congressional leadership included?

John Dietrich is a freelance writer and the author of The Morgenthau Plan: Soviet Influence on American Postwar Policy (Algora Publishing).  He has a Master of Arts degree in international relations from St. Mary's University.  He is retired from the Defense Intelligence Agency and the Department of Homeland Security.  He is featured on the BBC's program "Things We Forgot to Remember:" Morgenthau Plan and Post-War Germany.

Image: Pixabay, Pixabay License.