Ray Epps draws misdemeanor charge for J6

James Ray Epps Sr. infamously urged people “to go into the Capitol!” the night before the January 6 event. Now he faces a federal charge – for misdeanor disorderly conduct. The only likely reason he faces any charge at all, was the attention he got for his now-you-see-him-now-you-don’t appearance and disappearance from an online FBI wanted poster.

Ray Epps gets a charge

The case of U.S. v. Epps, 1:23-cr-00321, appeared Monday on CourtListener. The “information” on the case details the misdeanor charge. Matthew Graves, U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, has charged Ray Epps with “disorderly or disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds.” (18 U.S.C. section 1752(a)(2).)

Graves submitted a specification somewhat more dire:

[In that] JAMES RAY EPPS SR. did knowingly, and with intent to impede and disrupt the orderly conduct of Government business and official functions, engage in disorderly and disruptive conduct in and within such proximity to, a restricted building and grounds—that is, any posted, cordoned-off, and otherwise restricted area within the United States Capitol and its grounds, where the Vice President was and would be temporarily visiting—when and so that such conduct did in fact impede and disrupt the orderly conduct of Government business and official functions, and attempted and conspired to do so.

The Daily Caller suggests that the filing of information, not complaint, suggests U.S. Attorney Graves expects Epps to plead guilty.

This would appear to satisfy an allegation Epps made in a defamation lawsuit against Tucker Carlson. He said then he had received notice that the government expected to charge him with a criminal offense. Technically that’s correct, as any case with “cr” in its number is a criminal matter. But criminal does not mean felony.

Ray Epps is on video openly encouraging people in Washington for Donald Trump’s last rally, to enter the Capitol.

Worse yet, he briefly appeared as Person of Interest No. 16 on an FBI “wanted page,” then disappeared from it. That, plus his lack of a charge until now, suggests he was an agent provocateur in a false-flag pseudo-operation. Other video and images have him apparently colluding with one person who cut away some temporary fencing. Still another person took down signs posting the area as restricted.

Admitting his role before a Democratic House committee

Ray Epps also famously appeared before the “January 6 Committee” and admitted his “orchestration” of the incursion. Insofar as anyone has determined, about 200 people did enter the Capitol. One appears to have gotten a guided tour – yet that person received one of the harshest sentences. (The publicity surrounding his case seems to have won him early release.) But Epps never received so much as a criminal referral from the January 6 Committee. (That Committee had five Democrats and two token Republicans on it, both of whom had an animus against Trump.)