The Justice Department has revealed that an FBI informant deleted video footage he recorded during the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot—footage that a defendant in the case has been seeking for his criminal defense. The disclosure came in a court filing on Thursday as part of the DOJ’s case against William Pope, a Jan. 6 protestor representing himself.
Pope requested the footage earlier this year, asserting that FBI informant and ex-Proud Boys member James Ehren Knowles recorded his entry into the Capitol. Pope initially asked the DOJ for the footage in February, but prosecutors claimed on September 17 that no such video exists. In response, Pope pointed to CCTV footage showing Knowles filming as he entered the Capitol and noted that Knowles had testified during the Proud Boys trial that he did record video.
Pope contended that since Knowles testified that the FBI had copied his phone, the government should have the footage or at least be able to determine whether it was deleted before being copied. He also raised the possibility that Knowles either forgot if he handed over the footage or that he may have deleted it.
In response to Pope’s assertions, District Judge Rudolph Contreras ordered the DOJ last week to clarify whether the footage had been deleted and if the FBI could retrieve it from the phone’s data.
On Wednesday, the DOJ responded. After reexamining Knowles’ phone, the FBI claimed they could not find any video of him entering the Capitol. Prosecutors explained that based on Knowles’ testimony and a review of his phone, “the government believes that [Knowles] did delete images and/or videos that he recorded on January 6.”
The DOJ added that it was unclear whether the deleted footage would have been beneficial to Pope’s defense.
Pope’s trial is scheduled to begin on December 2.
