Defense lawyers in one of the most significant January 6th cases have accused the government of violating basic rights after prosecutors admitted that a witness for the defense was an FBI informant.

The startling admission raises new concerns of government misconduct in the case against five members of the Proud Boys for "seditious conspiracy."

The informant began working with the FBI in 2021 and didn't part ways with the agency until January of this year.

But the defense team didn't learn about Jen Loh's relationship with the FBI until last week, a day before they had planned to call her to the stand.

January 6 case exposed

The defense alleged "surreptitious invasion and interference of the defense team."

"During this period of time, the [informant] has been in contact via telephone, text messaging and other electronic means, with one or more of the counsel for the defense and at least one defendant," the defense complained.

Loh, a member of Latinos for Trump, even attended "prayer meetings" with relatives of the defendants and discussed replacing one of the defense lawyers.

Prosecutors have claimed that no deliberate infiltration of the defense team took place and that they cut ties with Loh as soon as they learned she would be called as a defense witness.

But the government's admission is sure to feed suspicions about the role of federal agents in January 6th, which some contend was provoked by the government as a false flag attack.

Cover-up?

The defense has argued that the Proud Boys never formed a direct plan to invade the Capitol, and they have pointed to the large number of informants embedded in the group to cast doubt on the prosecution's case.

The government has spun a far-fetched legal theory that the defendants, who did not commit any violence, deputized others as the "tools" to breach the Capitol. The so-called ringleader, Enrique Tarrio, was not even present at the Capitol on January 6th.

FBI agent Nicole Miller testified that she knew of two informants in the group, one of whom marched to the Capitol on January 6th.

But the defense says the government is undermining their case by hiding the full extent of the government's infiltration of the Proud Boys. The defendants are facing up to 20 years in prison.

The defense had planned to call Loh on Monday despite their concerns.