In bid to avoid jail, Proud Boys leader claims he was in contact with FBI years before Capitol riot

Joseph Biggs, a Proud Boys leader who is charged with conspiracy related to the January 6 insurrection, claims the FBI had checked in on him several times in recent years, according to a new defense filing arguing that Biggs' contact with law enforcement shows he's not a threat to the public and should stay out of jail pending trial.

In the filing, Biggs reveals that he regularly spoke to local and federal law enforcement about protests he knew of or was planning beginning in 2018. "By late 2018, Biggs also started to get 'cautionary' phone calls from FBI agents located in Jacksonville and Daytona Beach inquiring about what Biggs meant by something politically or culturally provocative he had said on the air or on social media concerning a national issue, political parties, the Proud Boys, Antifa or other groups," his defense lawyer wrote.