A Republican-pushed conspiracy theory claiming Arizona citizen and purported former Oath Keeper Ray Epps was an FBI agent who worked to cause January 6, 2021, Capitol riot has been resurfaced by Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene.
On Thursday, Greene displayed a video of Epps yelling at a gathering the night before the protest that they “need to go into the Capitol,” which coincided with a hearing by a House committee investigating the disturbance. Afterward, Greene argued that his yelled urge for the mob to enter the Capitol building “sounds like a plot” and “organized,” citing the footage.
The Fbi in His Stream.
According to her, “I don’t see why someone who fought so hard to bring people into the Capitol, why aren’t they languishing in a D.C. jail having their due process rights violated just like these other folks here?” “I believe they are the questions we should be asking.”
He didn’t name the FBI in his stream, but conspiracy theorists believe that because he hasn’t been charged, Epps was working for the government, according to the New York Times. The conspiracy theory that Epps was a federal informant and helped instigate the January 6 attack on the Capitol by a mob of Trump supporters to stop the certification of President Joe Biden’s election victory has been spread by figures ranging from Texas Senator Ted Cruz to former President Donald Trump.
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Broke out At the Capitol.
However, there are numerous signs that the idea is flawed. Another video shows Epps whispering to Ryan Samsel moments before the violence broke out at the Capitol, according to The Times. Republican theorists believe that Epps persuaded Samsel to enrage police officers in order to spark the ensuing melee in the Capitol.
Oath Keepers leader in the state of Arizona
Nothing is known about Epps’ involvement in the disturbance or his statements to authorities after the fact. However, based on publicly available information, here is what we know about him: When Epps and his wife purchased the property in Arizona in 2010, documents from the Maricopa County Assessor’s office indicate. Patriot Holdings and Rocking R Farms are two of Epps’ limited liability companies registered at that address. Both organizations were established in 2011 and are still active today.
The Couple Originally Tried Farming on The Land.
According to their website for the business, the couple originally tried farming the land and then transitioned to catering weddings and events in 2019. In an interview with the Daily Mail, Epps refused to address the rumors that had been published about the property. For his part, Epps told the Arizona Republic in a report published on January 11, 2021, that he had been directed not to comment by his counsel. After the report was published, we were unable to locate any public remarks from Epps.
According to the initial Revolver article, Epps served in the Marines, as evidenced by images from the Daily Mail piece in which he can be seen wearing a Marines cap. It was confirmed by a Marine Corps spokesperson to us that a service record for Epps, which we obtained from a Pennsylvania trespassing in 2015 arrest record, fits his name and birth date.
Wedding Business Claims.
The website for his wedding business claims that he was a construction worker for most of his career. According to the Oath Keepers’ website, members “will not obey” orders they believe to be unconstitutional. Epps has also worked with the Oath Keepers since its inception in 2009.
The Oath Keepers have been designated as an anti-government extremist group by both the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Anti-Defamation League. Federal prosecutors have filed criminal charges against members of the Oath Keepers for what they said was a wide-ranging plot to disrupt the January 6 election count.
The Defendants in The Conspiracy Case.
One of the defendants in the conspiracy case told a judge in December that the uncertainty over whether or not Stewart Rhodes will be indicted is preventing her from planning for trial. Seditious conspiracy charges against Rhodes and ten members of the Oath Keepers were revealed by the Justice Department on January 13.
It was announced on Nov. 23 that Rhodes had been summoned to appear before a congressional committee looking into the Capitol attack. Seven cops who had been at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, have also identified Rhodes in a civil claim. We don’t know if Epps is still a member of the organization or if he has been charged with any offenses related to the riot.
Freedom’s Phoenix.
According to Freedom’s Phoenix, he was pictured with Rhodes and named as the Oath Keepers’ Arizona chapter’s president in 2011. In a post on the Oath Keepers’ website that year, he was also recognized as the president of that chapter. We followed up with an email to find out if he still had ties to the group and if he was a current member. But he didn’t say anything back when I asked him.
When it comes to wedding venues in Arizona, it appears that Epps is the owner of an establishment where some of the members of the group have been accused of conspiring to obstruct the counting of electoral votes. This post will be updated if new information comes to light about him working for the federal government.
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Corrected on January 13:
Corrected on January 13: Matt Walsh is the host of the Daily Wire podcast. A mistake was made in our original story, in which we incorrectly named the news outlet. According to a previous version of this story, the Marines had no record of Epps serving in that branch of the service.
While conducting a search for Epps’ service record, a Marines spokesperson told us that he first looked for Epps by searching for the erroneous name, but then located Epps’ service record after searching for the proper name. That’s why we’ve revised our story.
Editorial Note:
A few hours after we published this report, the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol tweeted a tweet revealing that it had interviewed Epps. It’s now included.
Editorial note: FactCheck.org is one of a number of groups working with Facebook to refute falsehoods spread via social media platforms. You may read all of our prior articles by clicking here.
