Fed Ray Epps Claims That He Just Thought Capitol Was Opened on Jan 6

Ray Epps a mysterious January 6 figure Some suspect he was a federal informant. He told congressional investigators that he believed the U.S. Capitol had been open to the public the day of the riot.

The statement appears in a long-awaited transcript The House January 6 Committee released the following Thursday. released its final report last week. Epps was a self-described supporter of Donald Trump and raised concerns about the 2020 election. He was asked about January 5, 2021. video footage showing him To urge a crowd “go into the Capitol” The next day.

Epps said “yes” when asked if he was under the impression that the Capitol would be open on January 6, the day lawmakers met to certify President Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory. He repeated his answer. “yes” When is the word “open” In this instance, it was described as “like, open to visitors, like anyone could walk in.”

Epps was asked why he thought the Capitol would remain open. “It was a weekday.” When Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) pressed Epps on how he perceived the negative reaction he received from the crowd in response to his call to enter the Capitol — people around him shouted “No!” Chanted “Fed! Fed! Fed!” — Epps contended, “I don’t think I thought about it at the time.” Epps stressed that he felt he had followed up by telling the crowds to go into Capitol “peacefully.”

Epps claimed that his actions during those moments were intended to stop violence from erupting that night. But he admitted that what he said to the crowd, which included that he might be arrested for what he said, was a poor choice. “It shouldn’t have been said, but I said it,” Epps testified.

Republican lawmakers and prominent conservatives such as Tucker Carlson, have encouraged speculation about Epps. Epps is an Arizona man who was once Oath Keeper. Epps stated the following during a January 6 Committee interview. “crazy” Life was full of theories swirling around him. “really, really difficult.” He flatly denied acting on behalf any government agency during his time in Washington, D.C.

“The only time I’ve been involved with the government was when I was a Marine in the United States Marine Corps,” He said.

Part of the fascination with Epps derived from how he appeared on the FBI’s Capitol Violence Most Wanted list before he was removed without explanation, per the Washington Examiner. Kinzinger tweeted in January, roughly 10 days before Epps’ interview with the panel, that Epps “didn’t enter the Capitol on Jan 6, and was removed from the most wanted list because apparently he broke no laws.”

When asked about his client being removed from the list so quickly, Epps’ attorney John Blischack clarified that he believed that Epps “was removed shortly after he contacted the FBI and/or the FBI contacted me.”

Recordings released earlier this year to defense lawyers representing people who were charged in connection to the Capitol riot included further details about Epps, including the revelation that two days after the Capitol riot, Epps called an FBI tip line after seeing himself on a list of January 6 suspects, according to The New York Times.

According to the report, sources heard the recording of the call. Epps described to investigators what occurred in another exchange on film. This one was on January 6, just before violence broke out at the U.S. Capitol. It shows Epps whispering into another man’s ear at the barricades. Epps claimed he was trying calming this person down, and that the present police officers were only doing their jobs. Ryan Samsel, the January 6 defendant, reportedly confirmed Epps’ account.

Epps ultimately denied violating the law. He testified to the January 6 Committee that he attended Trump’s rally at the Ellipse near the White House, where the former president encouraged people to march on the Capitol To protest the 2020 election results, Epps made his way to Capitol with other protesters. Epps stated that he saw the Capitol closed to the public, and tried to calm tensions between police and protesters.

“I just looked around, and I was sick. There was a lot of tear gas, a lot of bad stuff going on,” He testified.

Epps stated that he had begun to leave and offered his assistance to anyone in need. Epps stated that he returned to the hospital afterward. “I saw people crawling all over the Capitol, climbing the walls. It made me kind of ill to my stomach. I decided to go back to the — there was no point in going back. It had gone beyond to what I wanted it to be.”

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