WASHINGTON — A federal judge on Tuesday sentenced Ray Epps, the Marine Corps veteran who found himself at the center of right-wing conspiracy theories surrounding the Capitol riot, to a year in probation – bucking a recommendation from prosecutors that he serve prison time.
Epps, 62, pleaded guilty in September to a single misdemeanor count of disorderly conduct in a restricted area. The former Arizona resident and Donald Trump supporter faced a maximum sentence of up to a year in prison, although other Jan. 6 defendants who’ve pleaded guilty to similar misdemeanor charges have routinely received sentences of probation or only a few weeks in prison.
Federal prosecutors sought six months behind bars for Epps, saying he participated in a “rugby scrum-like” effort to push past police lines. Although he wasn’t charged with a felony, in their sentencing memo prosecutors said he engaged in “felonious conduct” and it was only because of “compelling mitigating factors” that he was offered a misdemeanor plea deal.
Epps’ attorney, Edward Ungvarsky, pushed back on that – saying Epps shouldn’t be treated differently than any other misdemeanor defendant and that the prosecution’s sentencing memo presented a “misleadingly aggravated view” of Epps’ actions.
What all parties agreed on, however, was that Epps’ case was unique because he became the target of what prosecutors described as the “false and widespread conspiracy” that he was an undercover government agent on Jan. 6. During his arraignment, an assistant U.S. attorney took the unusual step of stating, on the record, that Epps had never been a government source.
"Mr. Epps, on Jan. 6, was not before, during or after a confidential source or undercover agent for the government, FBI, DHS or law enforcement," Assistant U.S. Attorney Mike Gordon said.
Epps can be seen in video in multiple places on the west side of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. He first appears in a video a night earlier encouraging a crowd of Trump supporters on the streets of D.C. to enter the Capitol the next day.
"Tomorrow we need to go into the Capitol!" Epps shouts to the crowd. "Into the Capitol!"
The next day, Epps, wearing a long-sleeved camouflage shirt and a red "TRUMP" hat, can be seen on another video again urging people to go to the Capitol.
"As soon as President Trump is finished speaking we are going to the Capitol," Epps can be heard saying. "That's where our true problems lie."
Once the riot began, Epps is visible in various places on Capitol grounds, including near the first breach of bike rack barricades on the west side of the building. In an image that has become central to conspiracy theories about him, Epps can be seen whispering something to another man, Ryan Samsel of Pennsylvania, before Samsel rushes the barricades and joins other rioters in tearing them down. In the process, prosecutors say Samsel, who awaits a jduge's verdict following a bench trial late last year, knocked down U.S. Capitol Police Officer Carolyn Edwards and caused her to suffer a concussion.
In his interview with the January 6th Committee, Epps said he was trying to deescalate the situation when he spoke to Samsel.
“I went out and talked to him and told him, okay, you know, that’s not why we’re here," Epps said. "You’ve got to be peaceful, pulled him back and told him, it’s not what we’re about.”
In July, Epps sued Fox News and former host Tucker Carlson for defamation, arguing they'd falsely accused him without evidence of being an undercover federal agent. Epps has said the conspiracies surrounding him, which he says Carlson helped promote, have threatened his safety and forced him to leave his home. The suit was filed in the same Delaware court where Fox agreed to pay Dominion Voting Systems $787 million for broadcasting lies about the 2020 election. Fox has sought to have Epps' lawsuit dismissed on First Amendment grounds.
In his memo, Ungvarsky said the conspiracy theories surrounding Epps have forced him and his wife from their home and caused them to have to rely on retirement savings “far earlier than anticipated.”
D.C. District Court Chief Judge James Boasberg ultimately sentenced Epps to a year of probation and $500 in restitution. Epps was allowed to appear for his sentencing via Zoom because of concerns for his safety. In a statement to WUSA9 Tuesday afternoon, Ungvarsky said Epps now hoped to get his life back.
“The government went to great lengths today and in its written argument to the judge earlier this month to put Ray Epps in jail for a lengthy period of time,” Ungvarsky said. “The Court correctly rejected their very serious, aggressive prison demand. In the face of the government’s demand, we are most grateful for the Court's careful determination that allows Ray and his wife to try to repair their lives from the incessant verbal and other attacks on Mr. Epps that have led to very real past and current concerns for their physical safety.”
Although Epps was not in court today, Trump did make an appearance as a panel of D.C. Circuit Court judges heard his appeal on multiple felony counts related to his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election. Trump has argued he should be absolutely immune from prosecution for any official acts made while president – and has said that he was seeking to uncover “voter fraud” after November 2020. The panel, which seemed highly skeptical of his arguments, will decide whether to dismiss the appeal outright, send it back to the lower court judge for further deliberations or to throw out the indictment against him. There was no timeframe for that decision to be made, although the panel was expected to resolve it on an expedited schedule.