Ray Epps, 61, had his life turned upside down after conspiracies emerged that he was working for the FBI as an informant on the Capitol riots – despite telling the Committee of 6 his son.
Epps denied in his interview with the House panel that he was working for the FBI at the time of the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riots, according to a transcript released Thursday.
He also listed a series of tragic events that have plagued him since the conspiracy began almost a year ago. These include his wife being forced to move out of their home and live elsewhere, and a series of death threats against him and his family.
“I can’t let my wife live in our house,” Epps said, claiming he’s staying there to “protect my property.”
He also said during the interview that he was not in contact with FBI law enforcement officials at any time during the month prior to the Capitol riot.
Epps was not arrested or charged for his actions on Jan. 6, although he was pictured in the crowd of rioters and caught on video urging people to storm the Capitol.
Selectively edited video of the Capitol riots was used to claim that Ray Epps (pictured) worked covertly with the FBI to orchestrate the Jan. 6, 2021 attack
The fact that he has evaded law enforcement has raised questions as to whether he had government or law enforcement ties.
A photo of his face was included in the original FBI suspect list, but was then removed months later.
The interview was released Thursday as part of a collection of transcripts that also included panel discussions with Donald Trump Jr.; his fiancee and former Fox News commentator Kimberly Guilfoyle; Muriel Bowser, Mayor of Washington, DC; Trump assistant Taylor Budowich; and former White House communications director Stephanie Grisham.
Epps told the Jan. 6 committee in a transcript released Thursday that his wife, Robyn Ebbs (pictured), had to move out of their home out of concerns for their safety after a series of threats
Epps said he was forced to sell his Arizona wedding business due to the ongoing threats posed by what he believes to be lies.
He claimed that he used to respect some of the lawmakers and media he now blames for the conspiracies against him. He now classifies these individuals and those who believe the claims as “lunatics.”
“We had a tour bus that came by our house and our business with all these wacky people in there,” Epps told the panel in his Jan. 21, 2022 interview.
Epps, who said he became emotional during testimony, has 38 grandchildren who, he told the Jan. 6 panel, were “teased at school” because of the stories that were being circulated about him.
“There are good people out there who have been to Washington,” Epps said in defense of those who protested the results of the 2020 presidential election on Jan. 6 and gathered outside the Capitol. “These are not the people who come to see us.”
“It attracts all the crazy people out there,” he added.
Fringe right-wing media outlets like Revolver News selectively took edited video of Epps from last January’s attack on the US Capitol and used it to claim he was an undercover agent working for the FBI to incite the riot and Trump making followers look bad.
Kentucky Representative Thomas Massie is also one of the main culprits, according to Epps, for shedding more light on the rumor that he worked for the FBI to incite the Capitol riot.
“It really started when Congressman Massie started his deal,” Epps claimed. ‘He put things like that on the floor of the house. When that happened, it just exploded. It got really, really bad.’
‘He and, my goodness, [Matt] Gaetz and [Marjorie Taylor] Greene, and yes, they just blow this thing up,” he continued, referring to other far-right officials. “After that it got really, really difficult. The crazies started coming out of the woodwork.’
Epps traveled to Washington, DC to support Trump’s claims that the 2020 election results were fraudulent.
On January 6, 2021, Epps was caught on video urging people to go to the Capitol. He was also there on the day of the attack.
Epps listed a series of tragic events that have plagued him since the conspiracy began almost a year ago. These include his wife being forced to move out of their home and live elsewhere, and a series of death threats against him and his family
Epps said he was forced to sell his Arizona wedding business due to the ongoing threats posed by what he believes to be lies
Epps was not arrested or charged for his actions on Jan. 6, although he was pictured in the crowd of rioters and caught on video urging people to storm the Capitol