FBI whistleblower pans bureau for alleged ‘gross misconduct’ and ‘fraud’ in early Jan. 6 pipe-bomb investigation

The Biden FBI is guilty of “gross misconduct and/or fraud” for calling off surveillance of an early person of interest in the Jan. 6 pipe-bomb case, an FBI whistleblower alleges in a letter to Congress. The letter refers to events that occurred nearly five years before Blaze News disclosed that the surveillance subject lived next door to a Capitol Police officer who is now a potential forensic match to the gait of the bomb suspect.

After reading the Nov. 10 protected whistleblower disclosure from an FBI supervisory special agent who is still at the bureau and a Nov. 8 Blaze News investigation of the pipe-bombs case, U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie believes the FBI “has been engaged in a cover-up” or has been “grossly incompetent.”

“Either way,” Massie (R-Ky.) told Blaze News in a statement, “these latest revelations about the pipe-bomb investigation require answers from the new FBI director.”

The Blaze News investigation said former Capitol Police Officer Shauni Rae Kerkhoff, 31, appears to be a forensic match to the gait of the pipe-bomb suspect. A forensic gait analysis arranged by Blaze News rated Kerkhoff’s stride as a 94% match to the individual shown on video planting pipe bombs the night of Jan. 5, 2021.

The gait analysis used a computer algorithm to analyze walking parameters including flexion (knee bend), hip extension, speed, step length, cadence, and variance. The veteran analyst who ran the study said based on visual observations the program can struggle with, he personally pegged the match at closer to 98%.

Kerkhoff has not been charged with any criminal conduct by any law enforcement agency in connection with the pipe-bomb incident.

The FBI has not responded to Blaze News requests for comment.

Attorney Kurt Siuzdak of Madison, Conn., filed a 10-page protected disclosure on behalf of his client, the whistleblower, with Massie and U.S. Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.), among the most active lawmakers still investigating Jan. 6 and its aftermath. Loudermilk is the chairman of the House Select Subcommittee to Investigate the Remaining Questions Surrounding Jan. 6.

The FBI supervisor said that “after FBI agents came within yards of the person who has been identified” in Blaze News' reporting, “the FBI surveillance team agents were ordered to cease their investigation, denied permission to conduct at least one logical interview, immediately removed from surveillance, and reassigned to do general leads work,” Siuzdak wrote.

“The ‘neighbor’ identified below [in the whistleblower complaint] lived within feet of [Person of Interest 3] and she appears to be the same individual as investigative reporter Steve Baker identified as a former U.S. Capital [sic] Police officer, who is currently associated with a U.S. intelligence agency,” Siuzdak wrote.

After the FBI identified several persons of interest in the pipe-bombs case, Squad 21 of the Washington Field Office Intelligence Division was assigned to do “FISUR,” or physical surveillance, in the Bailey’s Crossroads section of Falls Church, Va.

Kyle Seraphin, who was then a member of Squad 21, told Blaze News the surveillance lasted two days before the squad was pulled off the case without warning.

The new whistleblower said the female next-door neighbor of the man being surveilled was photographed by FBI agents.

“The ‘neighbor’ had been photographed by the FBI surveillance team, and her photograph and attire are similar to the individual who [allegedly] placed the devices,” Siuzdak said.

The FBI had already determined that the man referred to in FBI documents as Person of Interest 3 should be interviewed by agents. But when Seraphin proposed that he do a “knock and talk” at the man’s door, the idea was rejected, Siuzdak said.

The suspected pipe bomber moves to a bench behind the Democratic National Committee building in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 5, 2021. FBI

The face-to-face interview with POI3 “would have obviously led to the doorstep of the ‘neighbor,’” Siuzdak wrote. “However, investigative steps offered by the FBI agents in the field were rejected, and agents were immediately reassigned. The discontinuation of the investigation was described [by the whistleblower] as improper.”

Kerkhoff is named in consumer, banking, and credit records as having resided next door to the man under surveillance. She later moved to Alexandria, Va. When Blaze News editor in chief Christopher Bedford visited the area of Alexandria near her residence the night of Nov. 7, the curtains were drawn, two civilian-looking vehicles were in the driveway, one civilian-looking truck was out front, and a fourth vehicle pulled up after Bedford parked. Two plainclothesmen got out of the final car, and a third joined them from inside the house. The three men stood sentry in front of the home for a time.

The local police responded to Bedford's visit, and when he tried to drive away, he was quickly pulled over and asked why he was in the area. The local police promptly allowed him to go after he provided his ID and explained the reason why he was near the address.

Internal FBI documents included in the protected whistleblower disclosure corroborated information contained in a January 2025 report from the Committee on House Administration Subcommittee on Oversight.

According to the documents, the FBI had investigated an individual known as POI2, who was seen on surveillance video taking photographs behind the Capitol Hill Club the morning of Jan. 5 — about nine hours before an unknown subject in a grey hoodie placed a pipe bomb next to a row of rolling commercial garbage tubs.

The pipe bomb suspect (above left) walking west on C Street toward Rumsey Court, stopping in front of a congressional rooming house (upper right), possibly looking to place a pipe bomb on Jan. 5, 2021. Capitol Police squad cars (below) with lights engaged were across the street as the suspect walked down the court to plant the bomb. FBI/@Armitas/U.S. Capitol Police CCTV

The man left the area and later returned to walk through Rumsey Court, which runs behind the Capitol Hill Club and the Republican National Committee building. When he was later questioned by FBI agents, the man claimed he was taking photographs of “objects bearing numerals” for a book project.

Agents used surveillance video to track the man through part of the day Jan. 5. He arrived at the Capitol South Metro Station from the East Falls Church Metro Station at 9:58 a.m. Capitol Police “observed POI2 switching hats when we [sic] exits South Capitol Metro,” an FBI report said.

After taking photographs behind the Capitol Hill Club, POI2 walked around the U.S. Capitol complex and met with two unknown individuals, the House report said.

The FBI considered POI2’s behavior suspicious and said he could be considered a possible accomplice to the pipe bomber.

The man again walked through Rumsey Court before proceeding to the Capitol South Metro Station and riding the train back to Falls Church, Va., where he arrived at 6:53 p.m.

FBI records show that Person of Interest 2 was dropped off at the East Falls Church Metro by a Volkswagen Tiguan registered to Person of Interest 3, who was put under surveillance by the FBI a week later. Person of Interest 2 used a prepaid Metro SmarTrip card to pay for the train rides. The SmarTrip card was purchased by Person of Interest 3, the FBI said.

The FBI interviewed Person of Interest 2, who was not identified in the investigative documents Blaze News reviewed, on Jan. 19, 2021. The man was subsequently dismissed as no longer a person of interest in the pipe-bombs case. The FBI also cleared Person of Interest 3 of having any role in the placement of the bombs.

The U.S. House report said the FBI did not explain on what basis it cleared Persons of Interest 2 and 3, indicate how the men knew each other, or explain how Person of Interest 2 obtained the other man’s prepaid SmarTrip card.

In a Nov. 12 story, the Daily Wire reported that "law enforcement suspected a particular Falls Church, Virginia man’s Metro card of being linked to the case, and also that the Capitol Police officer was in fact his neighbor, literally sharing a wall with him."

The man told the Wire his Metro card "was used by a childhood friend who traveled from the south to attend Trump’s rally, and stayed with him to save money. The Air Force vet let him borrow his card and picked him up from the Metro station in Virginia after the rally, he said. Both men are Trump supporters, he said."

The man said he had been interviewed on the matter by what he believes to be Metro transit police, as was his visiting friend. Furthermore, the man told the Daily Wire that he does not believe his Metro card was used by his neighbor, the Capitol Police officer, on January 5.

Blaze News was unable to independently confirm the Wire's report. Blaze News investigative reporter Steve Baker knocked on the front door of the man’s townhouse on Nov. 9, but he declined to comment.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!