FBI Improperly Used Surveillance Program to Spy on Jan. 6 Suspects

FBI Director Christopher Wray speaks during a press conference at the Justice Department in Washington, on Jan. 26, 2023. Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

The FBI abused its surveillance powers while spying on suspects in the Jan. 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol and Black Lives Matter protesters, a federal court said in a newly unsealed ruling.

FBI agents violated standards the agency developed for the Section 702 program, which enables spying on Americans and others, more than 278,000 times, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court said in the 2022 ruling, which was made public for the first time on May 19.