Ray Epps

James Ray Epps (born May 28, 1961) is a U.S. Marine veteran and former Oath Keepers chapter president who was one of the rioters at the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021. Epps served as a United States Marine for four years. In July 2023, Epps sued Fox News for defamation. On November 27, 2024, the lawsuit was dismissed for failure to prove "actual malice". In September 2023, Epps was charged with and pleaded guilty to a single misdemeanor count of disorderly conduct for his participation in the attack, and was sentenced to a year of probation by Judge James Boasberg.

On January 20, 2025, the first day of the second presidency of Donald Trump, Epps was pardoned along with more than 1,500 others who received pardons or commutations regarding the events of January 6th.

Early life and career Epps was born in 1961 as James Ray Epps. Epps served in the United States Marine Corps from 1979 to 1983 before opening a wedding venue business in Queen Creek, Arizona, In May 2022, Epps and his wife moved from Arizona, closing their business and relocating to a trailer in the Rocky Mountains.

January 6 On January 5, 2021, in Washington, DC, Epps was filmed participating in two street gatherings. At one of the gatherings, he told the crowd, "We're here to storm the Capitol", and urged people to "go into the Capitol" the next day. Some voices in the crowd reacted by repeatedly chanting "Fed!" and accusing him of working for the federal government. Epps said in an interview for 60 Minutes that he traveled to the Capitol because he believed the election had been stolen from Trump.

Jan 6 aftermath Epps was included on an FBI list of wanted suspects. Two days later, Epps said he called the FBI to say that he had told Samsel to calm down. Samsel corroborated this in an FBI interview later that month, stating that Epps had told him "Relax, the cops are doing their job”.

During a House Oversight hearing in October 2021, video footage of Epps was shown prior to Republican Congressman Thomas Massie asking Attorney General Merrick Garland why Epps had not been charged with any crime. Garland refused to comment on charges against any specific individual during the hearing. A month later, right-leaning Revolver magazine published an article with the headline "Meet Ray Epps: The Fed-Protected Provocateur Who Appears To Have Led The Very First 1/6 Attack On The U.S. Capitol."

In January 2022, rumors about FBI involvement and Epps were dismissed by the United States House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack. By then, Epps and his wife were living in hiding, after receiving death threats due to the belief that he was an agent provocateur associated with the attack. Both USA Today and Reuters published fact checks explaining that Epps' wife worked for Dominion Enterprises not Dominion Voting Systems.

Epps accused Republican U.S. representatives Thomas Massie, Matt Gaetz and Marjorie Taylor Greene of spreading lies about him.

Defamation lawsuit Epps' lawyers served a cease and desist letter to Fox News on March 23, 2023, demanding that they stop repeating "malicious lies about his involvement in the events of January 6th." In July 2023, Epps commenced litigation against Fox News, after he accused Tucker Carlson and other hosts of perpetuating false claims that Epps was an agent provocateur, According to the FBI, Epps "has never been an FBI source or an FBI employee". Michael Teter, Epps' lawyer, said, "The fact that people like Joe Rogan continue to propagate the lie that Ray Epps participated in a false flag operation to instigate the Jan. 6 riots demonstrates the widespread and lasting harm that Fox News has done to Ray".

On November 27, 2024, a federal judge dismissed the defamation lawsuit, saying Epps did not provide enough evidence that Fox and Carlson had engaged with malice.

Misdemeanor charge Ray Epps was interviewed on the April 23, 2023 episode of CBS's 60 Minutes television program. Epps pleaded guilty to the charge the next day, on September 20, 2023. On January 9, 2024, Epps was sentenced to one year of probation. In 2025, President Donald Trump pardoned all Capitol attack defendants, including Epps.

Views Epps was a supporter of Donald Trump and voted for him in the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections.