Former U.S. Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund has claimed that he was never told by the FBI about the presence of hundreds of plainclothes agents during the events of January 6, 2021. In a recent interview on The Great America Show, Sund responded to newly surfaced reports that 274 FBI agents were embedded in the crowd that day—significantly more than earlier estimates had suggested.
The disclosure has reignited debate over federal involvement and what various agencies knew ahead of the Capitol breach. Sund said the lack of communication from federal authorities left him and his officers without critical information as they tried to secure the Capitol against the violent intrusion.
According to a congressional source, FBI deployments of undercover or plainclothes personnel are common at major public events for countersurveillance and intelligence-gathering. However, the source admitted that the FBI’s ongoing refusal to clarify its exact presence on January 6 risks fueling public skepticism and intensifying scrutiny of the bureau’s role.
The Justice Department’s inspector general previously reported that there was no FBI undercover presence during the riot, a finding that appears to conflict with newer claims of hundreds of agents deployed. FBI Director Christopher Wray himself has at times expressed uncertainty about how many agents were on the ground, further adding to the confusion.
For Sund, the lack of coordination reflects a larger failure in communication among law enforcement agencies. He maintains that he repeatedly requested intelligence from federal partners prior to the riot but was never informed about the FBI’s deployment. He argues that this omission left the Capitol Police at a significant disadvantage when the situation spiraled out of control.
The revelation, whether fully substantiated or not, underscores ongoing concerns about transparency, accountability, and interagency coordination. As congressional inquiries continue, the FBI faces mounting pressure to provide a clearer picture of its activities on one of the most consequential days in modern U.S. history.
