Informant didn’t spy on Proud Boys defense, prosecutors say

By LINDSAY WHITEHURST and ALANNA DURKIN RICHER
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — As revelations that a defense witness was also an FBI informant roil the already contentious Capitol riot trial of members of the far-right Proud Boys group, prosecutors say the informant was never told to gather information about the defendants or their lawyers. An FBI agent says investigators ended their relationship with the informant after they learned this past January that the person had received a subpoena to testify. The revelation came Wednesday when a defense lawyer said in court papers that the defense was told by prosecutors that afternoon that the witness they were planning to call to the stand on the next day had been a government informant. The judge held a hearing on the issue Thursday.