Ray Epps, a target of Jan. 6 conspiracy theories, gets a year of probation for his Capitol riot role
A man targeted by right-wing conspiracy theories about the U.S. Capitol insurrection has been sentenced to a year of probation for joining the attack by a mob of fellow Donald Trump supporters
WASHINGTON (AP) — A man targeted by right-wing conspiracy theories about the U.S. Capitol riot was sentenced on Tuesday to a year of probation but no jail time for joining the Jan. 6, 2021, attack by a mob of fellow Donald Trump supporters.
Ray Epps, a former Arizona resident who was driven into hiding by death threats, pleaded guilty in September to a misdemeanor charge. He appeared remotely by video conference and wasn't in the Washington, D.C., courtroom when Chief Judge James Boasberg sentenced him. His sentencing took place in the same building where Trump was attending an appeals court hearing as the former president's lawyers argued he's immune from prosecution on charges he plotted to overturn the results of the 2020 election he lost.
Fox News Channel and other right-wing media outlets amplified conspiracy theories that Epps, 62, was an undercover government agent who helped incite the Capitol attack to entrap Trump supporters. Epps filed a defamation lawsuit against Fox News last year, saying the network was to blame for spreading baseless claims about him.
Federal prosecutors have backed up Epps’ vehement denials that he was a government plant or FBI operative. They say Epps has never been a government employee or agent beyond serving in the U.S. Marines from 1979 to 1983.
