(Ken Silva, Headline USA) The FBI held a tabletop exercise in June 2020 that previewed that year’s disputed election and ensuing chaos during the Jan. 6, 2021, election certification process, according to newly released FBI records.
Dubbed an “alternative futures exercise,” the FBI’s Boston field office studied possible domestic extremist threats “following a disputed outcome of the 2020 US Presidential election.”
“This exercise began with a brainstorming session to identify several drivers that would likely shape this situation,” stated a Sept. 2020 FBI intelligence report, first reported by Just the News. “An additional brainstorming exercise was held to identify the two key drivers determined to be the most powerful for shaping the situation.”
The study, which was conducted by FBI intelligence analysts, found that domestic extremists had a high willingness to take action, but that their capabilities were lacking.
Along with forewarnings about the upcoming election, the FBI memo also included intelligence about the violent protests of summer 2020. According to the memo, an FBI informant said “anarchist extremist”—a term agents use for Antifa-style activists—were placing weapons along protest routes.
“These weapons were hidden behind fences, garbage cans, and other objects in case of a police confrontation,” the FBI memo said.
An informant also told the FBI in 2020 that Antifa was placing weapons along protest routes, according to these same documents. https://t.co/a0oirnU4Ta pic.twitter.com/T67KivhyVs
— Ken Silva (@JD_Cashless) February 10, 2026
Rep. Barry Loudermilk told Just the News that the FBI memo disproved the notion that the Jan. 6 protest-turned-riot blindsided the bureau.
“This document is evidence that Wray’s FBI predicted, as early as September 2020, that an attack on the Capitol was possible,” he reportedly said. “It also suggests that the FBI infiltrate online chat forums and build a network of Confidential Human Sources (CHS) prior to January 6. It further outlines how the FBI should pursue heavy-handed prosecutions for minor offenses, which Biden’s DOJ carried out quite effectively after the attack.”
“We now know, through CHS reports and other intelligence, that the FBI had enough information to not only predict an attack on the Capitol, but to prepare for one,” he added. “So why did the FBI not take steps to protect the U.S. Capitol?”
The FBI wasn’t the only organization to hold a tabletop exercise previewing election chaos. The Transition Integrity Project, an alliance of Never-Trumpers, also wargamed a series of four scenarios to ensure that Joe Biden would take power in the event of a contested 2020 race.
According to TIP’s original 22-page report, the planning for a riot at the U.S. Capitol may have begun in June 2020, the same month the FBI held its exercise. In TIP’s case, that’s when John Podesta — along with RINO ex-Republican National Committee chair Michael Steele and around 70 high-level military, intelligence and political power players — began anticipating the certification process. TIP wrote that the coup “may well be a street fight, not a legal battle.”
Ken Silva is the editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/jd_cashless.
