Ray Epps Finally To Be Criminally Charged For Role In January 6th Riots
(Chaz Anon) Ray Epps, the most obvious “insurrectionist” who was caught on video several times pushing Trump supporters to storm the Capitol on January 6, 2021, will finally be criminally charged, according to his attorney.
The impending charges were revealed in a Wednesday lawsuit filed by Epps against Fox News, which accuses former host Tucker Carlson of defaming him.
"...in May 2023, the Department of Justice notified Epps that it would seek to charge him criminally for events on January 6, 2021—two-and-a-half years later," reads the filing. "The relentless attacks by Fox and Mr. Carlson and the resulting political pressure likely resulted in the criminal charges."
In March, Epps hired attorney Michael Teter - formerly of Perkins Coie, the firm notorious for helping the Clinton campaign hatch the Steele dossier and collaborating with the FBI to push the Trump-Russia hoax. Teter immediately sent a letter to Carlson demanding that the former Fox News host retract "false and defamatory statements" that Epps was a J6 government plant.
Epps, 62, was identified as a key instigator of the riot who has long been suspected of being a fed (or a fed asset), told his nephew in a text message: "I was in the front with a few others. I also orchestrated it."
This is the only Jan 6 participant Adam Kinzinger will defend!
— Darren J. Beattie 🌐 (@DarrenJBeattie) June 9, 2022
Still not arrested... pic.twitter.com/v7nOggQUID
Last year he told Congressional investigators: "At that point, I didn't know that they were breaking into the Capitol," adding "I didn't know anybody was in the Capitol. ... I was on my way back to the hotel room."
In two interviews with the FBI in 2021, Epps explained his actions on Jan. 5 and Jan. 6. He admitted he was guilty of trespassing on restricted Capitol grounds and confessed to urging protesters to go to—and into—the Capitol on Jan. 6.
Epps also told members of the Committee that he found himself playing peacekeeper between Trump supporter "Baked Alaska" and the police - who called Epps a Fed.
"I was trying to find some common ground," said Epps. "This guy was trying to turn people against me...he was calling me 'boomer,' and it's his generation's fault that we're in the position we're in."
Despite the admissions, the FBI never arrested Epps and he was not charged by the U.S. Department of Justice with any Jan. 6 crimes. The non-action has fueled a crop of theories that he might have been working for the FBI or another agency.
Epps has repeatedly denied those suggestions through his attorney.
