(RightWing.org) – A January 6 protester is facing federal charges. Ray Epps, who hit the headlines when he was caught on video wearing a Trump hat during the 2021 Capitol riot, says he’s been defamed by the media. Now he’s in hiding — and gearing up for a legal battle against both Fox News and the federal government.
Ray Epps, a 62-year-old Arizona resident and former US Marine, was present at the January 6, 2021, protest against the outcome of the previous November’s presidential election. He was filmed urging other protesters to enter the Capitol building and was later added to the FBI’s list of wanted suspects for a short time but wasn’t charged with any crimes. He has also been accused by many Conservatives, including former President Donald Trump, of being a federal employee who attended the protest as a provocateur.
On July 12, Epps filed a lawsuit in the Delaware Superior Court against Fox News, alleging that the network and its former host Tucker Carlson had defamed him by repeating the claim he was a government agent. That’s not surprising — Epps has always denied working for any federal agency — but what is worth noting is a detail buried in the legal paperwork. In the filing, Epps’s attorney reveals that the Justice Department (DOJ) recently told his client that it plans to prosecute him for his role in the riot.
The lawsuit doesn’t give any details of what Epps could be prosecuted for, but video taken on the day shows him encouraging others to go into the building, including telling one man, “I’ll say it. We need to go into the Capitol.” However, the suit alleges that the DOJ was likely pushed into prosecuting him by “The relentless attacks by Fox and Mr. Carlson.” FBI director Christopher Wray was asked about Epps on July 12; he said he wasn’t willing to discuss “people who are or are not going to be prosecuted.”
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