Newly highlighted bureau strategy document fuels debate about disparities in enforcement between Capitol riot and 2020 protest cases.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
An FBI strategy memo drafted ahead of the 2020 presidential election is drawing renewed scrutiny from congressional investigators and former law enforcement officials, raising questions about whether federal authorities applied different standards in prosecuting crimes tied to the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol breach compared to unrest during the summer 2020 Black Lives Matter protests.
According to a report by Just the News, the memo shows the bureau prepared for potential post-election violence without distinguishing between left- and right-leaning groups. The FBI’s Boston field office conducted a tabletop exercise and gathered open-source intelligence on threats from both anarchist groups and right-wing extremists, recommending the use of undercover informants and aggressive prosecution of minor offenses to deter escalation.
The document, reported on earlier this week, is now being examined for what critics describe as a disconnect between those recommendations and the federal government’s later response to the Capitol riot.
Prosecution Rates Compared
Public reporting has documented that a large share of criminal cases stemming from the 2020 protests were dismissed. The New York Times reported in late 2020 that prosecutors in multiple jurisdictions dropped many protest-related charges. A 2021 analysis by The Guardian found that roughly 90% of cases reviewed across a dozen jurisdictions were dismissed or declined for prosecution.
In Houston, approximately 93% of charges were dropped, according to The Guardian. During those protests, demonstrators blocked a federal highway, and eight officers were injured. In Philadelphia, where protesters smashed windows, looted stores, and set fire to police cars, at least 95% of arrests reportedly resulted in dropped charges or no prosecution.
At the federal level, the Associated Press reported that fewer than half of the more than 300 federal protest-related cases led to guilty pleas or convictions.
In contrast, more than 1,500 individuals were arrested in connection with the Jan. 6 Capitol breach, resulting in 1,270 convictions, according to data analyzed by Lawfare and reported here. That equates to roughly 80% to 86% of cases concluding in convictions prior to President Donald Trump’s pardon actions last year.
Federal prosecutors also relied on an obstruction statute to charge some Jan. 6 defendants with interfering in an official proceeding, a strategy detailed by NPR in this report. The Supreme Court later narrowed that interpretation in June 2024, ruling the statute applied only when a defendant obstructed the use of “records, documents, objects, or other things used in an official proceeding,” as NPR reported.
Trust and Internal Concerns
Former FBI special agent Mark Morgan told Just the News that even the perception of unequal enforcement damages public confidence.
“Whenever there’s a perceived appearance of a double standard, especially when it’s based on some legitimacy, the first thing that happens immediately is the public’s trust in the system of justice as the country starts to erode,” Morgan said on the Just the News, No Noise program.
Morgan also criticized media coverage of the 2020 unrest, noting that networks including CNN were criticized for characterizing some demonstrations as “mostly peaceful” while property damage occurred in the background.
Internal discontent was also documented. A report obtained by Just the News detailed anonymous complaints from FBI personnel who said agents were deployed to the Capitol without adequate safety gear and felt the bureau had become “infected with political biases and liberal ideology.”
One employee wrote in an after-action review: “The FBI should make clear to its personnel and the public that, despite its obvious political bias, it ultimately still takes its mission and priorities seriously. It should equally and aggressively investigate criminal activity regardless of the offenders’ perceived race, political affiliations, or motivations; and it should equally and aggressively protect all Americans regardless of perceived race, political affiliations, or motivations.”
Former U.S. Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund, who resigned after Jan. 6, also questioned enforcement comparisons. Referring to unrest near the White House in May and June 2020, he told the John Solomon Reports podcast that more officers were injured and more property damage occurred during those protests, yet “not a single prosecution.”
“That’s dumbfounding,” Sund said.
Congressional investigators are now examining whether the FBI’s pre-election strategy guidance was applied consistently and whether differences in charging decisions between 2020 protest cases and Jan. 6 defendants reflect legal distinctions or broader enforcement disparities.
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