To complete the story of Ray Epps, add another question.
The NY Times just wrote a story about him, and they want us to know that it’s “been hell” for Epps. Indeed, here’s the title of their story: “‘It’s Just Been Hell’: Life as the Victim of a Jan. 6 Conspiracy Theory.”
Here’s what one of their other reporters tweeted about the story.
Ray Epps’s reputation has been severely damaged by Republican politicians and right-wing media personalities who have falsely described him as an agent of the government that instigated the attack at the Capitol in 2013. @alanfeuer https://t.co/fDMuiqbHxu
— Adam Goldman (@adamgoldmanNYT) July 13, 2022
“Ray Epps has suffered enormously in the past 10 months as right-wing media figures and Republican politicians have baselessly described him as a covert government agent who helped to instigate the attack on the Capitol last year.”
The NY Times reported that right-wing media workers used edited video footage to create the videos.
Obscure right-wing media outlets, like Revolver News, used selectively edited videos and unfounded leaps of logic to paint him as a secret federal asset in charge of a “breach team” responsible for setting off the riot at the Capitol.
Ray Epps, however, was video-encouraged to encourage people to visit the Capitol on the following day on Jan. 5. On Jan. 6, he was on camera encouraging the people to follow the speech to the Capitol. But the NY Times referred to the guy who took the video of Epps as an “agent provocateur.”
“During the event, he was videotaped by a right-wing provocateur encouraging people to go inside the Capitol on Jan. 6 in what he described, even at the time, as a form of peaceful protest,” the NY Times claimed.
This video was just made for AG Merrick Galrland. He declined to say how many federal agents and assets were in the crowd Jan 5th-6th, and how many people entered the Capitol. pic.twitter.com/lvd9n4mMHK
— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) October 21, 2021
The Times thought that the man was a provocateur but Epps didn’t agree. This is despite the fact that the Times acknowledged Epps’ involvement in organizing people to visit the Capitol.
Then there’s another curious part of the Times story.
Mr. Epps said that he had acted stupidly at times when he and one of his sons took a last-minute trip to Washington for Mr. Trump’s speech about election fraud. However, he claimed that he managed to get away with his arrest by reaching out to F.B.I. Within minutes, he discovered that agents wanted him to talk with them.
Two days following the attack on the Capitol, Mr. Epps was informed by a relative that the F.B.I. had been notified. His name had been added to a F.B.I. be-on the-lookout alert. He said he immediately called the bureau’s National Threat Operations Center, and his phone records show that he spoke to agents there for nearly an hour.
F.B.I. has repeatedly declined to comment on Mr. Epps, but his account of calling the operations center — and of sitting down for a formal discussion with federal agents in March 2021 — is backed by transcripts of those interviews reviewed by The New York Times.
Interview transcripts reveal that Mr. Epps stated to agents that he spent most of his time at Capitol trying to calm other rioters. This assertion is supported by numerous video clips.
His conversations with FBI agents are recorded and he had to reach out. Fascinating.
I find it rather curious that of all the people who were at the Capitol that day, the only person who seems to be treated as a “victim” by the liberal media or who is defended by Jan. 6 Committee member Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) is this guy, Ray Epps. I haven’t even seen the poor protesters who died that day being painted as “victims.” This is interesting, juxtaposed against how everyone else involved that day is painted as a threat to “democracy” by the liberal media and those on the left. Adam Kinzinger even termed “Ray” a “misled man.” Kinzinger said Epps told them he did not work for the FBI.
The NY Times reporter who spread this story got the ratio of all time for how he described Epps as the victim, with many noting that Epps wasn’t incarcerated like many others despite encouraging people to go into the Capitol. Somehow, I don’t think going to the NY Times to convince people was the best move of all time.
Everybody who went to Washington on January 6th was a terrorist, a traitor and the only exception is the guy who said everyone should storm the Capitol. For some reason that guy is so great we shouldn’t call him a fed, it seems. Are you sure? https://t.co/Zv9Q7ZN9Ff
— Michael Knowles (@michaeljknowles) July 14, 2022
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