Verdicts & sentences

Jan. 6: Prosecutors Recommend 6 Months in Prison for Epps

JAN 3 2024·Updated JAN 6 2024

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The Facts

Federal prosecutors have recommended that 62-year-old Ray Epps — a former Trump supporter caught on camera multiple times on Jan. 5, 2021, telling people to "go into the Capitol...peacefully" the next day — be sentenced to six months in prison for alleged disorderly conduct on restricted grounds.
Independent
After he was accused of being a federal agent ("fed") by some Trump supporters the night before, Epps on Jan. 6 was one of the first to break through the police barricade and trigger the larger storming of the Capitol. He also texted a relative that he helped "orchestrate" the riots and was subsequently on the FBI's wanted list for months; after he was taken off the list, Trump supporters began to allege he was a government agent.
Politico
Prosecutors accused him of engaging in a "rugby scrum-like group effort" to push past police. Epps previously said he left the Capitol grounds after seeing people scaling the walls.
ap
Two days after the riot, Epps, who is set to be sentenced on Jan. 9, turned himself in to the FBI and voluntarily cooperated for months. Assistant US Attorney Michael Gordon said that due to Epps enduring "conspiracy" allegations against him and other duress, he should receive a lighter sentence than others who have gotten more than a year in prison for the same crime.
Politico
Epps has also sued Fox News for defamation — blaming the news outlet for spreading conspiracy theories about him that he said led to death threats and bullet casings being left on his property.
Independent
This comes months after the leader of the Oath Keepers, whose Arizona chapter Epps led many years ago, was sentenced to 18 years in prison in May for what prosecutors said was a weeks-long plot to block the transfer of power between Donald Trump and Joe Biden. So far, more than 1.2K people have been charged with federal crimes related to Jan. 6, over 900 of which have pleaded guilty or been convicted by a jury.
ap

Sources Split

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RIGHT

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The Spin

Left narrative

While those on the far right will spew baseless conspiracy theories about Epps, the truth is that his only ties to the federal government were his four years in the Marines. Epps' sentence is completely justified as he was caught on video encouraging rioters to storm the Capitol but was also seen trying to calm tensions between rioters and police. Epps is a tried and true Trump supporter who, after quickly realizing his wrongful conduct, turned himself in and cooperated with law enforcement to obtain a lesser sentence.

NBC

Right narrative

Bringing this trial to a close will not cleanse the government of suspicions surrounding the Ray Epps saga. First, if prosecutors wanted to seem genuine, they wouldn't have waited almost three years to charge him. Second, they wouldn't have white-washed Epps' conduct on Jan. 5 in their official "Statement of Offense." While Epps was caught on video arguing against Trump supporters who didn't want to go into the capitol, prosecutors decided to focus on his rhetoric about not engaging left-wing groups. This case will always have the echo of an inside job.

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