Credence
DP Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 30, 2019
- Messages
- 13,932
- Reaction score
- 20,970
- Location
- Long Island NY
- Gender
- Female
- Political Leaning
- Independent
Epps was just another supporter of TFG ...... yawn
Pro-Trump protester Ray Epps told Jan. 6 committee 'crazy' conspiracy theories tore apart his life
Far-right members of Congress have suggested that the Trump supporter was actually a federal plant. Epps said the attack made him "ill."
WASHINGTON — An Arizona man who became the target of online conspiracy theories after he joined protesters outside the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, told a House committee that he wasn't secretly working for the government during the attack and that the campaign against him has torn his life apart.
Epps told the Jan. 6 committee that the wasn't working for the CIA or the National Security Agency or the Washington Metropolitan Police Department.
“The only time I’ve been involved with the government was when I was a Marine in the United States Marine Corps," Epps said.
The theory that Epps was working for the FBI never made much sense, given that his image landed on an FBI poster immediately after the attack.
Epps, who was a supporter of former President Donald Trump, said in the interview released Thursday that his grandchildren were being "picked on at school" because of his actions. He has gotten death threats. His business dropped. People have shown up at his house.
"We had a tour bus come by our home and our business with all these whacked out people in it," Epps said. "There are good people out there that was in Washington. Those aren't the people that's coming by our house. This attracts — when they do this sort of thing, this attracts all the crazies out there."
Epps was seen on video telling other Trump supporters the night before the attack that they needed to go into the Capitol. Epps told the committee that he was under the impression that the building, which was closed to the general public because of Covid restrictions, would be open.
"The Capitol is the people's house and the rotunda — people can go into the rotunda and — and see what's happening there. My vision was, get as many people in there as we can and surround it, be there, let them know that we're not happy with the — with what — what has happened, and that was it. No violence," Epps said. "I never intended to break the law. It's not in my DNA. I've never — I'm sure you've looked up my record. I don't break the law."
Epps' view of whether he could go into the building, he said, changed on Jan. 6. Body camera video shows Epps asking law enforcement officers how he can assist them, offering to help move rioters back from the police line and away from the steps. He turns toward members of the crowd and tries to get them to calm down. Another rioter, one of the first to breach the barricades, also told authorities that Epps told him to “relax“ and that police were just doing their job.
www.nbcnews.com
Video:
Pro-Trump protester Ray Epps told Jan. 6 committee 'crazy' conspiracy theories tore apart his life
Far-right members of Congress have suggested that the Trump supporter was actually a federal plant. Epps said the attack made him "ill."
WASHINGTON — An Arizona man who became the target of online conspiracy theories after he joined protesters outside the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, told a House committee that he wasn't secretly working for the government during the attack and that the campaign against him has torn his life apart.
Epps told the Jan. 6 committee that the wasn't working for the CIA or the National Security Agency or the Washington Metropolitan Police Department.
“The only time I’ve been involved with the government was when I was a Marine in the United States Marine Corps," Epps said.
The theory that Epps was working for the FBI never made much sense, given that his image landed on an FBI poster immediately after the attack.
Epps, who was a supporter of former President Donald Trump, said in the interview released Thursday that his grandchildren were being "picked on at school" because of his actions. He has gotten death threats. His business dropped. People have shown up at his house.
"We had a tour bus come by our home and our business with all these whacked out people in it," Epps said. "There are good people out there that was in Washington. Those aren't the people that's coming by our house. This attracts — when they do this sort of thing, this attracts all the crazies out there."
Epps was seen on video telling other Trump supporters the night before the attack that they needed to go into the Capitol. Epps told the committee that he was under the impression that the building, which was closed to the general public because of Covid restrictions, would be open.
"The Capitol is the people's house and the rotunda — people can go into the rotunda and — and see what's happening there. My vision was, get as many people in there as we can and surround it, be there, let them know that we're not happy with the — with what — what has happened, and that was it. No violence," Epps said. "I never intended to break the law. It's not in my DNA. I've never — I'm sure you've looked up my record. I don't break the law."
Epps' view of whether he could go into the building, he said, changed on Jan. 6. Body camera video shows Epps asking law enforcement officers how he can assist them, offering to help move rioters back from the police line and away from the steps. He turns toward members of the crowd and tries to get them to calm down. Another rioter, one of the first to breach the barricades, also told authorities that Epps told him to “relax“ and that police were just doing their job.
Pro-Trump protester Ray Epps told Jan. 6 committee 'crazy' conspiracy theories tore apart his life
Far-right members of Congress have suggested that the Trump supporter was actually a federal plant. Epps said the attack made him "ill."
www.nbcnews.com
Video:
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/MC46SOHHQRF3DM6E2ERVZJB4BA.png)
