Infamous Jan. 6th rioter Ray Epps is scheduled to finally be sentenced next week for having “engaged in felonious conduct,” but his longtime critics still aren’t happy.
In a sentencing memo filed last Tuesday, federal prosecutors called for Epps to spend just half a year behind bars as per his documented participation in the Jan. 6th riot of 2021.
“Epps attended Trump’s speech that day near the White House, where the president insisted the election had been stolen from him and encouraged his supporters to ‘fight like hell’ and go to the Capitol,” according to HuffPost.
“Epps himself then encouraged people to go to the Capitol, where he joined a group that fought police officers on the Capitol grounds as they made their way toward the building. Video from the previous evening shows Epps saying he thought people should go all the way in.”
Responding to the news of Epps’ upcoming sentencing, GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy cried foul, suggesting in a tweet that he deserved to be hit with far tougher charges given all he’d done.
Look:
TRUTH #6: Ray Epps, who was caught *on camera* telling people to go into the Capitol building, was placed on the FBI “Most Wanted” list immediately after Jan 6, but then suddenly removed. Three years later, the U.S. government slapped Epps with a single “disorderly conduct”… https://t.co/e0wcTW40c5
— Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) January 6, 2024
“TRUTH #6: Ray Epps, who was caught *on camera* telling people to go into the Capitol building, was placed on the FBI ‘Most Wanted’ list immediately after Jan 6, but then suddenly removed,” he wrote.
“Three years later, the U.S. government slapped Epps with a single ‘disorderly conduct’ charge (0-6 months in jail). #EntrapmentDay”
Many on the right have long accused Epps of being a federal informant or insider of some type who’d purposefully directed people toward the Capitol on Jan. 6th so as to facilitate the now-famous riot.
The federal government’s original insistence on not prosecuting Epps and instead presenting him as some sort of victim helped contribute to this so-called “conspiracizing.”
Yet even now, with Epps finally being held accountable to some degree, many on the right remain steadfastly convinced he’s a fed, especially in light of the soft sentence he’s about to receive compared to other rioters.
Look:
he was acting on the governments behalf. He is a FED and we all know it.
— My Opinion (@jasonma64338378) January 6, 2024
He was obviously a Fed or a plant. This is why Christopher Wray refused to answer when asked how many Feds were on the ground January 6th
— JC (@jcdav) January 6, 2024
I assume the feds went to rayray and said something along the lines of “look bro we gotta charge you with somethin to get em off our backs, cop to the misdemeanor charges and we’ll add another story to your house”
— Bilbo Baggins (@Jbanklestankle1) January 6, 2024
The only logical explanation is he was a state actor and the @TheJusticeDept were in on it. Its clearly a rather ham-fisted attempt at entrapment. And now they’ve announced they’re going after nonviolent people that didn’t enter the building.
— robvsnature (@robvsnature) January 6, 2024
Ray Epps is a Fed. There’s no other explanation for his behavior and the preferential treatment he received by the J6 committee and the DOJ.
A 69-year-old grandma with cancer got substantially worse treatment for waving an American flag.
— Paul A. Szypula (@Bubblebathgirl) January 6, 2024
Notice what one critic wrote: “And now they’ve announced they’re going after nonviolent people that didn’t enter the building.”
This is also true. U.S. Attorney Matthew Graves announced late last week that federal prosecutors will now be targeting people who’d been peacefully milling around outside the U.S. Capitol during the riot.
Listen:
DC U.S. Attorney Matthew Graves is making clear that the DOJ is now going to target Americans who were around the Capitol on J6 but did not enter the building pic.twitter.com/bj4i3QfHe9
— ALX (@alx) January 6, 2024
Graves’ announcement spurred a fierce response from Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene.
“They are going to prosecute innocent people that didn’t even go in the Capitol, who had no idea about any lines they crossed on Capitol grounds that the American taxpayers pay for, while not prosecuting over 60% of daily crime in DC,” she tweeted on Saturday.
“These are the ‘defenders’ of democracy. If only my GOP colleagues cared to help me stop this,” she added.
Look:
They are going to prosecute innocent people that didn’t even go in the Capitol,who had no idea about any lines they crossed on Capitol grounds that the American taxpayers pay for, while not prosecuting over 60% of daily crime in DC.
These are the “defenders” of democracy.
If only… https://t.co/U0MstaIV9O— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (@RepMTG) January 7, 2024
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V. Saxena is a staff writer with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University. Saxena also contributes to BizPac Review.
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