A lawsuit from Ray Epps, a shadowy figure at the edge of multiple theories concerning the Capitol incursion, says he has been charged by the Department of Justice more than two years after the events of Jan. 6, 2021.
The claim is contained in a defamation lawsuit Epps filed against Fox News. In the lawsuit, Epps blames former Fox News host Tucker Carlson for having the spotlight thrust upon him, leading to threats from Trump supporters and, eventually, charges against him.
Epps was a highly visible figure in multiple videos from the incursion. Epps was originally among those pictured on an FBI wanted notice in the days immediately after Jan. 6 but was removed from the list in July 2021. Speculation ran rampant that because he was not charged, Epps was a federal agent whipping up the emotions of protesters.
In a “60 Minutes” interview in April, Epps said he cooperated with the FBI and told his story. At that time, he had not been charged with any crime.
However, the lawsuit said everything soon changed.
Ray Epps, a key part of inciting January 6th, will be arrested and criminally charged. Almost 3 years after the fact? I question the timing of this.
— Pamela Hensley 🇺🇸🎥 (@PamelaHensley22) July 13, 2023
“Finally, in May 2023, the Department of Justice notified Epps that it would seek to charge him criminally for events on Jan. 6, 2021 — two-and-a-half years later. The relentless attacks by Fox and Mr. Carlson and the resulting political pressure likely resulted in the criminal charges,” the lawsuit said.
The lawsuit did not say what those charges would be. As of Thursday, Epps was not listed in those charged in federal court in Washington, D.C., related to the incursion.
“Although it is difficult to believe that the Department of Justice would have pursued this matter if Fox had not focused its lies on Epps, ultimately the criminal charges conclusively demonstrate the falsehood of the story that Mr. Carlson and Fox told about Epps,” the lawsuit said.
“Epps was not a federal agent. He was a loyal Fox viewer and Trump supporter. Had the Department of Justice charged Epps in 2021, Mr. Carlson would have hailed Epps a hero. Instead, Fox and Mr. Carlson made Epps the central figure in a lie they concocted about Jan. 6, 2021. After destroying Epps’s reputation and livelihood, Fox will move on to its next story, while Ray and Robyn live in a 350-square foot RV and face harassment and fear true harm. Fox must be held accountable,” the lawsuit said.
RAY EPPS is being CRIMINALLY CHARGED by the DOJ?
Took long enough. pic.twitter.com/7QPyhF06KW
— Dr. Truth (@Tony11Sim) July 13, 2023
On Wednesday, FBI Director Christopher Wray told the House Judiciary Committee he had no knowledge of Epps being a “secret government agent,” according to the Arizona Republic.
“I will say this notion that somehow the violence at the Capitol on January 6 was part of some operation orchestrated by FBI sources and agents is ludicrous,” he said.
🚨 #BREAKING: Ray Epps, a key inciter of the January 6th riots, will be be arrested & criminally charged for his actions that day, according to his attorney.
Despite videos of Epps being on video multiple times on Jan 5 and Jan 6 actively encouraging people to storm the… pic.twitter.com/SB5lxSccu7
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) July 13, 2023
Epps also came up when Republican Rep. Troy Nehls of Texas questioned Wray, according to the Daily Wire.
Nehls noted there was little difference between the actions of Epps and others who were arrested.
“Now look into the camera, sir, when you answer my next question,” Nehls said. “Are you going to arrest Mr. Epps, yes or no?”
Is the FBI protecting Ray Epps? pic.twitter.com/t0YPNbkEs7
— Congressman Troy E. Nehls (@RepTroyNehls) July 12, 2023
“I’m not going to engage here in a discussion about individual people who are or are not going to be prosecuted,” Wray said.
“You can see him. I almost think he’s inciting a riot,” Nehls said, adding, “There’s a lot of cloud over this.”
“My point is this,” Nehls said. “You arrested a lot of folks for unlawful activity. You just saw the video, and I will tell you, Mr. Wray, if you don’t arrest Mr. Epps, there’s a reason behind it. I believe you know what it is, and it appears to me you are protecting this guy. I strongly recommend you get your house back in order.”
Hmmm
Obviously, the idea here is that epps, with massive help from the media, (garland has already “helped” by making sure he was not “charged” for 2-1/2 years) is trying to create yet another false narrative. This time the narrative is that epps is just a victim and the evil fox news and Tucker Carlson are the real criminals. To describe this kind of nonsense as anything other than corrupt and evil to its core simply doesn’t adequately paint either epps, garland, biden, pelosi et. al., or the media as the true threats to our Freedoms they represent…
Without any shadow of a doubt the video tapes and his own admission so clearly and concisely prove that ray epps, by the definitions set forth by the January 6 committee committed outright acts of sedition, incitement to riot and of course insurrection etc., and thus should be facing at least 20+ years in jail. Given the totally corrupt garland “justice” system it is highly unlikely that this lying sack of sh*t will get even 15 months in jail…
‘Mr Epps you were their as were other innocent people who are now in prison one such gentleman who never entered the Capital got 4 years in prison for creating a disturbance their are a lot of innocent men who did nothing more than you did that are in prison the videos proving they never entered the Capital wasn’t and still isn’t relevant their in prison for not being a demonfk I’ve seen you on the video even before Tucker Carlson showed it I believe it was one of the fake lying networks this is personal to all the leftist that want to destroy Americans, your one of us! Did you ever think to call Carlson so he could get your story, someone said you were an agent no Carlson you never stepped up go to Carlson’s twitter account and talk to him it’s never to late to tell your story if you weren’t working for the lying fbi!
We were watching a live streamer online as this event was occurring. We will never get the video out of my minds as we watched a hand holding a gun protruding from a doorway in the Capitol. It seemed like forever, all of a sudden the person fired the gun and Ashli Babbitt dropped. She was doing absolutely nothing that warranted being shot let alone murdered. And why her? There were plenty of other people on the inside and it actually looked as if she was trying to hold people back.
It certainly looked to me, like Mr Epps was a ringleader at the capital riot. Put his ass on the witness stand and squeeze him hard.