Judge Dismisses Lawsuit Over Jan. 6 FBI Agent List as Espionage Threats Loom

A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit aimed at preventing the public disclosure of FBI agents involved in investigating the January 6 Capitol riot, offering a cautious victory for the Justice Department while warning that concerns over agent safety remain valid.

U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb, appointed by President Joe Biden, ruled on Thursday that the plaintiffs—FBI agents seeking to block the release of their identities—did not provide sufficient evidence that disclosure was imminent or intended. The case stemmed from mounting fears within the bureau after a request by senior DOJ leadership to compile a list of all agents who worked on the sweeping investigation into the 2021 insurrection.

“Plaintiffs filed these cases in a whirlwind of chaos and fear,” Cobb wrote in her ruling. “Some former January 6 defendants, now pardoned and at large, called for FBI agents to be doxed—or worse.”

Though Cobb acknowledged the emotional and professional toll on agents, she emphasized that the current record lacks evidence suggesting the government intends to publicly release their names or take retaliatory action. “The dust has settled,” Cobb continued, “and this case has evolved.”

The lawsuit was originally filed in February, shortly after the abrupt termination of eight senior FBI officials. The legal filing came in response to a directive from Principal Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove, who requested a detailed list of agents and ordered them to complete a questionnaire outlining their involvement in the Jan. 6 investigation. Bove, recently nominated to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, has maintained that the purpose of the review is internal and procedural.

Despite his assurances, some FBI personnel feared that the list could be used for political retaliation, including possible dismissals or public exposure. These concerns, however, did not meet the legal threshold necessary to continue the lawsuit, according to Judge Cobb.

“The Court ordered expedited jurisdictional discovery to cut through the chaos and allow Plaintiffs to shore up their standing allegations,” Cobb wrote. “That discovery revealed no evidence that Defendants are on the verge of disclosing Plaintiffs’ identities.”

Lawyers representing the FBI Agents Association expressed disappointment in the dismissal but said they were prepared to refile should any threats of exposure re-emerge.

“We are proud to defend the FBI employees who bravely investigated the January 6th attacks,” attorneys Margaret Donovan and Chris Mattei said in a joint statement. “The Court acknowledged that the disclosure of agents’ names would endanger them and accepted the Government’s claims that it would not do so. We stand ready to return to Court immediately if the Government does not live up to its obligations.”

For his part, Bove stated that agents who acted ethically and followed protocol during the Jan. 6 inquiry have nothing to fear. “No FBI employee who simply followed orders and carried out their duties in an ethical manner with respect to January 6 investigations is at risk of termination or other penalties,” Bove wrote in a memo earlier this year.

The internal review of FBI personnel comes at a time when the bureau is grappling with escalating national security threats, including a surge in foreign espionage cases.

Last week, FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino announced the disruption of what he described as a “major Chinese spy operation” operating across several U.S. cities. The FBI executed multiple search warrants and made two arrests in San Francisco, Houston, Portland, and San Diego. According to Bongino, the dismantled network had been attempting to infiltrate U.S. military ranks and steal classified information on advanced weapons systems.

“This is your FBI, and you deserve to know about the work we’re doing every day to keep our country and citizens safe,” Bongino posted on social media platform X.

The recent arrests follow a string of espionage cases involving American service members accused of sharing sensitive information with foreign governments. Bongino described these incidents as “treason-adjacent espionage,” a growing threat the FBI is working to counter aggressively.

Since January 2025, the FBI has arrested 51 foreign intelligence operatives tied to adversarial nations including China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea. Charges have ranged from cyber and economic espionage to the theft of military technology and illegal trafficking of biological materials.

According to the bureau, more than 5,000 counterintelligence investigations are currently active, with over 800 new cases opened this year alone. These developments underscore the growing pressure on federal law enforcement agencies to not only address domestic unrest but also defend against increasingly bold foreign intelligence operations on U.S. soil.

As tensions rise both internally and abroad, the FBI finds itself walking a tightrope—protecting its agents from political fallout while facing mounting global threats in an ever-shifting national security landscape.