Who is Michael Jones?: FBI Informant Planted in Proud Boys Caught on Tape on January 6

Instead of serving time in prison for felony convictions, Jones is part of the so-called "white supremacy" movement. He also reportedly is a fed.

In one humorous moment—and there were very few—during the seditious conspiracy trial of five members of the Proud Boys earlier this year, one defense attorney mocked the number of FBI confidential human sources, commonly known as informants, embedded in the group before January 6. “I am not and never have been a CHS,” Carmen Hernandez, a public defender representing one of the men, told Judge Timothy Kelly on March 26 after the government revealed the existence of yet another FBI informant.

In fact, the Department of Justice stipulated, meaning admitted, at least eight FBI informants were involved with the Proud Boys in the months leading up to January 6. Defense attorneys, however, identified even more; at one point, a government witness confessed that more than a dozen informants participated in group chats and engaged in heated discussions later used as evidence in the trial. One FBI informant was a driver for Enrique Tarrio, the leader of the Proud Boys; another continued to engage the defendants after their arrests.

While prosecutors successfully concealed the identities of most FBI informants planted in the Proud Boys, newly obtained surveillance video shows the movement of one Proud Boy informant on January 6.

Michael Alan Jones is a convicted felon with a history of firearms, drug and statutory rape charges. But rather than spend years in prison—more on that in a future piece—in 2019, Jones suddenly became interested in so-called “white supremacist” and “neo-Nazi” groups including the Proud Boys and Patriot Front.

And according to a recent article on Raw Story, an online publication that tracks the activity of those groups, Jones was an FBI informant. “Raw Story has independently confirmed that Jones has in the past worked as a paid FBI informant,” reporter Jordan Greene disclosed last month. “Lira Gallagher, a spokesperson for the FBI Washington Field Office, declined to comment.”

Jones, now 25, participated in several Proud Boys demonstrations leading up to the events of January 6. For example, in November 2020, Jones joined the Proud Boys for a “Stop the Steal” protest that “served as a regional feeder event for a Dec. 12, 2020 protest against the election outcome that would come to be seen as a dress rehearsal for the Jan. 6 insurrection,” Raw Story reported last month.

Jones on January 6

On the morning of January 6, Jones joined dozens of Proud Boys including Joseph Biggs and Ethan Nordean as they marched toward the Capitol around noon.

Jones, wearing a dark hoodie and khaki cargo shorts, was present at the first breach of exterior barriers shortly before 1:00 p.m.. (Still uncharged provocateur Ray Epps also is seen with the group.) Open-source video shows Jones as he makes his way to the lower west terrace as skirmishes began between protesters and police.

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At one point, Jones is near Dominic Pezzola, another Proud Boy who later broke a window allowing the first interior breach of the building. Fighting escalated between protesters and law enforcement; Jones is in the middle of numerous confrontations, pulling away metal racks and taunting police.

During one clash, it appeared that Jones punched an officer. (Standing behind Jones as he assaulted the officer is Ryan Samsel, a Pennsylvania man who’s been in jail awaiting trial on various counts since January 2021.)

Even a dousing or two of tear gas didn’t deter Jones, who remained on what has been designated restricted grounds for over an hour.

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At 2:42 p.m., Jones climbed over a railing at the Senate Parliamentarian door and entered the Capitol where he encountered dozens of protesters.

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He walked into an empty office; after Jones exited the office, a man briefly removed his face mask to whisper something to Jones, who is then seen carrying a case of bottled water outside.

About a minute later, Jones re-entered the building and helped several protesters break open the door of another office. Carrying what appeared to be the leg of a chair or desk, Jones exited the building at 2:45 p.m. then returned twice more:

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Jones later posted a message on Instagram admitting feds were involved in January 6. “There might have been a handful of agents in the crowd but they lost control of the crowd and things got worse than they anticipated. They anticipated letting in a door or two and making that look like the end of the world. But the doors got smashed down and people f***ed around in offices and threw paperwork around for fun.”

Recall one reason the FBI would not turn over surveillance video to the Boston FBI Field office, according to one whistleblower, were fears that confidential human sources would be identified in the footage.

No Pretrial Detention or Sedition Charges for Jones

Despite behavior that has landed other January 6 protesters in prison—“parading” in the Capitol, assaulting or interfering with law enforcement, obstruction of an official proceeding to name a few—Jones remains uncharged. He was arrested for violating curfew on January 6 and released. (He now faces new charges unrelated to January 6.)

Further, Jones’ conduct on January 6 was far more violent than the conduct of any of the five Proud Boys later charged with seditious conspiracy and other felonies. (All were denied bail.) Four of the five were convicted of seditious conspiracy in April and face decades in prison.

The fact that Jones still does not face federal charges for his role in January 6 seems to confirm Raw Story’s reporting that he was acting as a federal asset that day.

And it’s not as if the FBI cannot find Jones to charge him for January 6; he’s been hiding in plain sight. Jones now is tied to the Patriot Front, a group some in the media and on the Right suspect is yet another FBI entrapment operation. “During the time Jones was active with the Proud Boys, from 2020 to 2022, he was also involved with Patriot Front, demonstrating the porous relationship between the Proud Boys, a group that accepts men of color while claiming to be not racist, and neo-Nazis and other open white supremacist groups,” Raw Story reported.

More to come.