NY Times Sympathetic Profile Of Mysterious January 6 Figure Ray Epps Only Raises More Questions

A glowing profile of Ray Epps published last week by The New York Times has done little to quell suspicions on the right that the self-professed onetime Trump supporter had a mystery role in the January 6 Capitol riot.

Epps, a 61-year-old Arizona man, is seen in multiple video clips from January 6 and the day before trying to whip up other Trump supporters to “go into the Capitol” the next day. Whether by virtue of his own size and air of authority or some unknown factor, Epps appears in many clips to be taking on a leadership role among Trump supporters who showed up to protest what they believed was a stolen 2020 presidential election.

“In fact, tomorrow, I don’t even like to say it cause I’ll be arrested,” Epps tells a man filming him with a phone camera.

“Well, let’s not say it,” the man responds.

“I’ll say it. We need to go into the Capitol,” Epps says.

“I’m going to put it out there. I’m probably going to go to jail for this. Tomorrow, we need to go into the Capitol, into the Capitol!” Epps tells fellow protesters in another clip.

“What? No! No!” members of the crowd respond in unison.

“Peacefully!” Epps adds.

The crowd of Trump supporters then starts chanting, “Fed! Fed! Fed!” at Epps.

“Okay folks, spread the word. As soon as the president is done speaking we go to the Capitol. The Capitol is this direction,” Epps tells a crowd in a clip from the next day, January 6.

“He’s done speaking! We are going to the Capitol where our problems are. It’s that direction. Please spread the word,” Epps shouts at passersby in another clip.

Over and over again, at least four times on video, Epps repeats his call to action.

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

Later, while the vast majority of MAGA supporters were still near the National Mall where Trump was speaking, Epps is seen at the front of the very first crowd that breached the security perimeter around the Capitol. Moments before the crowd pushes past Capitol police officers, Epps whispers something into fellow protester Ryan Samsel’s ear. Later in January, Epps and Samsel both told the FBI separately that Epps had been encouraging Samsel to relax because the cops were just “doing their job.”

No charges were ever filed against Epps for his role in the riot.

The unproven theory that Epps, a member of the right-wing group the Oath Keepers, was working with the federal government, perhaps persuaded by the FBI to turn informant for protection, was first floated on a 4chan message board last summer and was taken up by Revolver News, the right-wing media outlet started by former Trump speechwriter Darren Beattie. Fox News host Tucker Carlson has since discussed the Epps theory several times on his show. Even Trump mentioned Epps at a rally, and the hashtag #WhoIsRayEpps trended on Twitter.

In the Times’ profile of Epps, which referred to Epps as a “victim,” criminal justice reporter Alan Feuer acknowledged that Epps was “not just a bystander” on January 6 but said that his role was “twisted” as the FBI asset theory gained momentum.

Revolver News used “selectively edited videos and unfounded leaps of logic” to try to show Epps was a government plant, the Times claimed. It’s not clear what “selectively edited” means in this case.

“Things became significantly worse” for Epps after Carlson and top Republicans began to “amplify the lies,” the Times article said, and meanwhile Trump, whom Epps had supported, “tarred his name and destroyed his reputation.” Epps has “suffered enormously,” and his “life has been ruined by a Jan. 6 conspiracy theory,” the Times lamented.

Notably, the Times said Epps was taped urging people to go “to the Capitol,” strange phrasing since Epps clearly states again and again that he wants protesters to go “into the Capitol” specifically.

Nowhere in the Times article does Feuer appear to press Epps, who he says wore a look of “pained exhaustion” during the interview, on why exactly he wanted protesters to physically enter the Capitol building or why he happened to be at the front of the crowd when they penetrated the security perimeter.

The Times’ treatment of Epps is gentle compared to its coverage of other January 6 participants, dubbing them in a June editorial, “flag-draped thugs storming the halls” and a “howling mob” that “rampaged through the Capitol” as part of a “coordinated assault.” In January, the Times gave oxygen to the idea that some of the events of January 6 could be considered domestic terrorism.

One of the most eyebrow-raising details of the Epps case is that Epps was mysteriously removed from the FBI’s wanted list as federal investigators poured money and resources

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