“The anger and depression is hitting hard today,” Richard Barnett, a self-described white nationalist who was sentenced to 54 months in prison for raiding the Capitol on Jan. 6, wrote on X on Monday. Barnett, who was among some 1,500s rioters pardoned by Trump, complained that Patel and Deputy Director Dan Bongino “stabbed us in the back” and “actually promoted one of our tormenters, Steve Jensen, into a position of great power within the FBI.”
Kyle Seraphin, part of a group of former agents who called themselves the “Suspendables” for raising objections to the Jan. 6 investigations, called Jensen a “true J6 insurrection believer” and a “January 6th hysteric” on X.
Seraphin’s criticism is especially notable because of his close relationship with the FBI’s current director and its deputy director. Seraphin was placed on leave from the FBI for contesting coronavirus vaccine mandates, and he went public in 2022 with his criticism of the FBI’s handling of the Jan. 6 investigations by appearing on the podcast of Dan Bongino, who is now the FBI’s deputy director.
Bongino at the time described Seraphin as “a brave guy and a patriot.” Bongino went on to say that Seraphin “gave up everything to give us this incredible, incredible account of what’s going on inside the now-broken FBI, some of the abuses taking place.
“Please listen to this and spread the word,” Bongino added. “It’s a really important interview.”
Following the Bongino interview, Seraphin recounted to the Washington Post that Patel, then a former Trump administration official, reached out to him to offer support. Patel’s foundation would up cutting a check to Seraphin for $10,000. Seraphin told the Post that his relationship with Patel has continued, and that the two spoke after Trump nominated Patel to lead the FBI.
In an X post over the weekend, Seraphin noted that Jensen was the subject of testimony to the House Weaponization Committee chaired by Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH). George J. Hill, a former FBI supervisory intelligence analyst in the Boston Field Office who took a critical stance on the Jan. 6 investigation, testified to the House Republicans that “probably the most egregious and one of the things that pushed me over the edge was a tirade by Steve Jensen.”
Hill testified that Jensen pushed back against officials from the Philadelphia Field Office who expressed the view during a national conference call that there wasn’t sufficient evidence to pursue cases against three individuals suspected of Jan. 6-related offenses. According to Hill’s account, Jensen responded by saying, “I don’t give a blank, they’re goddamn terrorists, and we’re gonna round them all up.”
Disbelief and disillusion
Some Jan. 6 defendants are echoing Barnett’s disgust with Patel’s decision to elevate Jensen to the Washington Field Office.
“Seriously Kash? Why the fvck does this guy have a job, let alone a promotion?” Derrick Evans, a former West Virginia state lawmaker who served a three-month sentence for felony obstructing or impeding officers during a civil disorder, wrote on X.
Steve Baker, another convicted Jan. 6 defendant who is now a contributor to Blaze Media, posted: “I would admonish all Trump supporters to voice their opposition to the appointment of Steve Jensen as @FBIWFO ADIC… because this is ‘not what we voted for.’”
The FBI declined to comment for this story.
But many Trump supporters, swayed by conspiracy sites with a vested interest in discrediting the mainstream media, have dismissed the appointment as “fake news.” The right-wing site Gateway Pundit initially published a story headlined, “NY Times Caught Again Spreading Fake News: TGP Confirms Jan. 6 Activist Agent Was NOT Appointed Washington Field Office Assistant Director…Questions Remain,” before confirming that Jensen was, in fact, appointed to the position.
The popular X account Catturd posted on April 5: “Yesterday over half the conservatives on X were fooled by a fake news article by the NYT that I told you was fake — and they spent all day doomsday gaslighting a fake story.”
Two people who have not commented on the appointment are Rep. Jordan, the former chair of the now-defunct House Weaponization Committee, and former Congressman Matt Gaetz, who were present when Hill leveled criticism at Jensen during his committee interview.
House Republicans’ silence on Jensen’s appointment prompted Baker and Seraphin to accuse the Weaponization Committee of exploiting Jan. 6 defendants for political gain.
“@Weaponization committee hearings with @FBI whistleblowers ultimately led to nothing other than typical strongly worded letters — which were ignored by the DOJ and FBI and resulted in no follow-up action,” Baker complained.
Seraphin, in turn, predicted: “The FBI’s new management will distance themselves from whistleblower testimony proven true after congressional investigations to continue the status quo. Congress will suggest perhaps all of their fundraising and Fox News hits exaggerated the problems at the FBI.”
