(Washington) A man wrongly accused by right-wing US media of serving as an agent provocateur for federal police during the storming of the Capitol on January 6, 2021, was charged Tuesday for his conduct that day.
Like hundreds of supporters of outgoing President Donald Trump, Ray Epps went that day to the headquarters of the US Congress to protest the “theft” of the presidential election at the hands of Joe Biden.
Mr. Epps himself began defamation proceedings in July against Fox News for presenting him as an undercover agent for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the US federal police, after he incited the mob to storm the Capitol in an attempt to prevent the certification of Joe Biden’s nomination. victory.
He indicated in his complaint that he went to the demonstration on January 6, 2021, convinced that “the election was stolen” from Donald Trump because of “lies broadcast by Fox,” but he did not enter the Capitol.
But Ray Epps is now on trial for disruptive conduct in a restricted area during the attack on the Capitol.
Since January 6, 2021, more than 1,100 people have been arrested and charged. More than half of them were sentenced, the majority to prison.
Donald Trump was not directly concerned by the courts with the events of that day, although the Commission of Inquiry on January 6, 2021 recommended that criminal proceedings be taken against him in December 2022, in particular for his calls for rebellion and conspiracy against American institutions.
He was indicted in August by a federal court in Washington, then by state courts in Georgia (southeast), for his alleged illegal attempt to obtain a reversal of the 2020 election results.
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