The man who allegedly attempted to break into the FBI’s Cincinnati office Thursday before being shot dead by federal agents was being monitored by the FBI for months, officials familiar with the matter told The New York Times on Friday. Ricky Shiffer, 42, was being watched in connection with the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, the sources said. Law enforcement officials separately said they were looking into whether Shiffer was in a Facebook video from Jan. 5, 2021 that places him at a Trump rally in Washington, D.C. the night before the Capitol attack. The sources also said the FBI got a tip about Shiffer unrelated to the Jan. 6 riot that sent agents to Florida and Ohio for interviews. No further information was available on that tip. A neighbor in Columbus told The Times that the FBI had come by Shiffer’s residence a few weeks ago and questioned the neighbor about when Shiffer left and returned home.
