In this Jan. 6, 2021 file photo rioters supporting President Donald Trump storm the Capitol in Washington.
John Minchillo/AP
Ray Epps traveled to Washington D.C. to support President Donald Trump on January 6, 2021.
He was later pegged to a conspiracy theory alleging the feds incited the Capitol riot.
He told The New York Times in an interview he had to sell his business and home and go into hiding.
Ray Epps, a Marine veteran and business owner from Arizona, traveled to Washington D.C. to show his support for former President Donald Trump on January 6, 2021.
And although he’s not among the hundreds of Capitol rioters who were arrested and charged, the events that followed ruined his life, he said.
Epps, 61, became the center of a conspiracy theory, pushed by the former president himself, that would cause him to sell his business and his home and go into hiding, according to an interview he gave to The New York Times that was published Wednesday.
“And for what — lies?” Epps told The Times. “All of this, it’s just been hell.”
The baseless theory stemmed from attempts by some on the right to blame the Capitol riot on federal agents, who they claimed wanted a reason to provoke a crackdown on conservatives.
A video of Epps taken on January 5 showed him telling other Trump supporters they needed to go into the Capitol the following day. Epps was never arrested, prompting right-wing internet sleuths to accuse him of being an undercover FBI agent or informant trying to stir up violence — despite videos that show Epps urging others to be peaceful and trying to deescalate confrontations between police and the rioters on January 6.
The theory was eventually picked up by right-wing media and Republican politicians, including Rep. Thomas Massie and Sens. Ted Cruz and Tom Cotton, among others. Trump himself mentioned Epps’s name at a rally in January, suggesting he may have been working for the feds.
Epps told The Times he and his wife began receiving death threats via email and had people trespassing on their property starting in October, when right-wing site Revolver News first published a story about it. The attacks intensified after Carlson and lawmakers promoted the claims.
Epps eventually found shell casings on his property and received a letter, potentially a hoax, saying Mexican cartel members were planning to kill him. He ended up selling his business and home, losing hundreds of thousands of dollars, and moving into a mobile home somewhere in the Rocky Mountains. He agreed to The Times interview as long as his current location was not disclosed.
“I am at the center of this thing, and it’s the biggest farce that’s ever been,” he said. “It’s just not right. The American people are being led down a path. I think it should be criminal.”
The FBI has not publicly commented on allegations that Epps was working with them or why he was not charged.
Epps said he never entered the Capitol and told The Times he immediately contacted the FBI’s National Threat Operations Center two days after the Capitol riot, when he found out they had flagged him in a be-on-the-lookout alert. The outlet confirmed his phone records showed he spoke to the FBI and obtained transcripts from additional interviews.
Epps was also questioned by the House select committee investigating the Capitol riot in November and told them he was not connected to the FBI, Politico reported.