Fi Duong

Case Summary

Fi Duong was reportedly first identified on the morning of Jan. 6 by an undercover officer with the Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Police Department. Duong asked whether the undercover officer was a "patriot," and he identified himself as an "operator," according to court documents. The undercover officer later saw Duong in a restricted area of the U.S. Capitol but did not engage with him, court documents indicate. After identifying and connecting Duong's email and phone to his whereabouts, the Metropolitan Police Department officer introduced him to an undercover FBI agent. Duong opened up to the agent, reportedly saying he was part of a group he compared to a known militia group in Northern Virginia. According to the FBI, he said he had thought about going to Texas but decided against it, saying: "I grew up here. My blood is Virginia and I’d hate to leave it. ... For me, you can only run for so long, eventually you got to make a stand. I spent, my family spent two generations running from communists. First in China and then in Vietnam, now we’re here. And at a certain point, you just gotta make a stand.” The undercover FBI agent reportedly continued his relationship with Duong, who eventually told the agent he had been at the Capitol and had video of it. The FBI agent also went to Duong's house, where they met with the militia group they had discussed, and preparations for group activities were made, including a plan to get a private chat server to keep communications within the group secure, court documents indicate. The FBI observed firearms and ammunition boxes at Duong's house, and Duong often expressed interest to engage in violence and conflict, and interest in explosive and destructive devices, according to court documents. Duong continued conversations about surveillance of the U.S. Capitol into February, and in March brought into the group a person alleged to be a member of the Three Percenters, a far-right extremist group. Duong also allegedly continued to share information about his activities on the day of the riot, including videos he had taken. By June, the FBI agent was talking with him regularly about testing Molotov cocktails, and Duong reportedly said, "At a certain point, as a man ... you’re gonna have to stand your ground and say no ... and technically, you’re engaging in war or conflict, but again, what is the price we ultimately pay for peace?" According to sentencing memos filed in court, Duong served in the U.S. Marine Corps.

Case History

Duong pleaded Guilty to the charge. Sentenced on 11/5/2024 to 36 months of Probation; Special Assessment: $100; Restitution: $2,000; 50 hours of community service. Duong received a full pardon on January 20, 2025

Sources

• Primary Documentation
  NPR Jan. 6 Defendant DatabaseNPR
• Primary Documentation
  Underlying court recordCourt record linked by NPR

Case summary, charges, procedural updates and image are drawn from the NPR Jan. 6 archive snapshot dated 2026-09-25 unless otherwise indicated.