Who is Ray Epps, the suspected January 6 ‘fed inciter’?

By Updates

January 12, 2022

Updates

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A man from Arizona entered the focus of a partisan fight over how the Capitol Hill riot should be remembered

A participant of the pro-Trump rally that escalated into the breach of the Capitol Building last year was pinpointed as a possible federal agent provocateur, but critics call the claim a ‘conspiracy theory’.

I just played this video for AG Merrick Garland. He refused to comment on how many agents or assets of the federal government were present in the crowd on Jan 5th and 6th and how many entered the Capitol. pic.twitter.com/lvd9n4mMHK

— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) October 21, 2021

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On January 6, he was filmed directing demonstrators to go towards the Capitol after the speech Trump delivered at the rally. Later, he was filmed in front of a police barricade moments before protesters broke it down. In the video, Epps can be seen saying something to another person who was wearing a red MAGA hat, but didn’t take part in the attack on the barricade.
There is no evidence that he personally went inside the building after the breach.

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In the early 2010s, he was president of the state chapter of the non-partisan militia Oath Keepers. He is also reportedly closely associated with the founder and national leader of the organization, Stewart Rhodes. Neither man was charged with any crimes related to January 6, even though other protesters linked to the group have faced some of the most serious allegations among the hundreds of people indicted as part of the Capitol riot investigation.
The conservative news outlet Revolver laid out arguably the most detailed case for why they believe Rhodes and Epps were protected from prosecution by the federal government.
There are plenty of vocal supporters of the narrative in the conservative camp, including Fox News host Tucker Carlson, Representative Thomas Massie, and Senator Ted Cruz, to name a few.