Republicans Have a New January 6 Conspiracy Theory: Deep State “Ghost Buses”
Representative Clay Higgins on Wednesday resurrected the conspiracy theory that the FBI was behind the January 6 attack, but he added a fun new twist: “ghost buses.”
FBI Director Christopher Wray appeared before the House Homeland Security Committee to testify about global threats. During the hearing, Higgins brought up the conspiracy theory that the January 6 insurrection was started by FBI agents posing as Donald Trump supporters.
Although Wray said that was “emphatically not” the case, Higgins kept pushing.
“Do you know what a ‘ghost vehicle’ is, Director? You’re director of the FBI, you certainly should. You know what a ‘ghost bus’ is?” the Louisiana Republican asked.
When Wray said he didn’t, Higgins explained: “It’s a vehicle that’s used for secret purposes. It’s painted over,” he said, showing a photo of buses parked at Union Station in Washington, D.C., the night before the attack.
Higgins insisted that two of the buses had their windows completely painted over and were therefore ghost buses.
“These buses are nefarious in nature and were filled with FBI informants dressed as Trump supporters, deployed onto our capital on January 6,” he said. “Your day is coming, Mr. Wray.”
Wray: If you are asking whether the violence the Capitol on Jan 6th was part of some operation orchestrated by operatives/sources, the answer is no
— Acyn (@Acyn) November 15, 2023
Higgins: Do you know what a ghost bus is? These are nefarious in nature and were filled FBI informants dressed as Trump supporters pic.twitter.com/t8wgitZRy0
Republicans have repeatedly insisted that FBI agents and informants were secretly behind the insurrection, so that they don’t have to admit that Trump and his supporters were responsible. This claim has been repeatedly debunked by the FBI and by people arrested in connection with the riot.
Hundreds of people arrested for participating in the January 6 attack said they went to Washington because they felt Trump had personally told them to. Others who were smeared as FBI agents, such as Capitol rioter Ray Epps, have testified that they were not connected to any law enforcement agencies.