How an Undercover FBI Agent Ended Up in Jail After Pretending to Be a Journalist
An FBI agent named Charles Johnson spent nearly a year making a fake documentary on the Bundy family, but he wasn’t finished pretending to be a journalist.
Ryan Devereaux
Ryan Devereaux is an award-winning investigative journalist and Type Media Center fellow covering immigration enforcement, national security and the environment.
He was a lead reporter on The Intercept’s award-winning series “The Drone Papers,” and winner of the 2017 Online Journalism Award for best feature writing for a small newsroom. In 2020, Devereaux received the Deadline Club’s top prize for feature reporting for “Bodies in the Borderlands,” a yearlong investigation into the criminalization of humanitarian aid in the Sonoran Desert, and in 2023 he shared an Edward R. Murrow award for feature reporting for his coverage of Arizona’s illegal dumping of shipping containers as an ad hoc border barrier on protected public lands. He has reported extensively on the drug war in Mexico, the war on terror, and the Department of Homeland Security. Prior to The Intercept, Devereaux worked at The Guardian US covering policing in New York City.
His forthcoming book, “The Hunt: A True Story of Resurrection and Retribution in the West,” from Avid Reader Press, will be published in 2026. He is based in Tucson, Arizona.
He was a lead reporter on The Intercept’s award-winning series “The Drone Papers,” and winner of the 2017 Online Journalism Award for best feature writing for a small newsroom. In 2020, Devereaux received the Deadline Club’s top prize for feature reporting for “Bodies in the Borderlands,” a yearlong investigation into the criminalization of humanitarian aid in the Sonoran Desert, and in 2023 he shared an Edward R. Murrow award for feature reporting for his coverage of Arizona’s illegal dumping of shipping containers as an ad hoc border barrier on protected public lands. He has reported extensively on the drug war in Mexico, the war on terror, and the Department of Homeland Security. Prior to The Intercept, Devereaux worked at The Guardian US covering policing in New York City.
His forthcoming book, “The Hunt: A True Story of Resurrection and Retribution in the West,” from Avid Reader Press, will be published in 2026. He is based in Tucson, Arizona.
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The Bizarre Story Behind the FBI's Fake Documentary About the Bundy Family
The FBI spent almost a year making a fake documentary, trying to get Cliven Bundy, his family, and their supporters to incriminate themselves on tape.
There's Already an Invisible Wall Between the U.S. and Mexico
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Trump Targets Undocumented Families, Not Felons, in First 100 Days
The Trump administration’s decision to target families and longtime residents for deportation diverts resources from criminal investigations.
Trump Administration Ramps Up Threat to Prosecute Immigrant Parents
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Attorney General Jeff Sessions Plans to Roll Back Decades of Police Reform
Attorney General Jeff Sessions called for the review of “existing or contemplated” agreements between police departments and the federal government.
Homeland Security Sees Anger at Trump as a Driver of “Domestic Terrorist Violence”
A Homeland Security document obtained by The Intercept characterized violent protests against Donald Trump as “domestic terrorist violence.”
Donald Trump Plans to Bypass the Courts to Deport as Many People as Possible
A new set of policy memos dramatically expands the range of people who can be deported without seeing a judge.
The War on Immigrants
Hispanic Caucus on Trump’s Deportations: “We’re Creating an Immigration Police State”
Thomas Homan, the acting head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, confirmed to Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham that last week’s deportations came as a result of Trump’s executive order.
The War on Immigrants
ICE Arrested Nearly 700 People Last Week, Advocates Are Bracing for More to Come
Executive orders signed by the president have expanded the range of individuals targeted by ICE for immigration raids and deportation.