Conservatives who have speculated that federal agents or informants may have helped provoke the Capitol riot are not satisfied with the Jan. 6 House select committee’s statement that Ray Epps, a provocateur at the center of the theory, testified that he was not an informant or agent.
Their continued skepticism set off a flurry of criticism from Illinois Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger, one of two Republicans on the committee appointed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
The reactions indicate that “fedsurrection” theories surrounding the Capitol riot are unlikely to subside anytime soon.
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A Jan. 6 committee spokesperson released a statement Tuesday afternoon about Epps, an Arizona resident and former Marine with connections to a far-right militia who was seen in videos Jan. 5 encouraging people to go into the Capitol and at the site of the first fence breach on Jan. 6. Epps “informed us that he was not employed by, working with, or acting at the direction of any law enforcement agency on January 5th or 6th or at any other time, and that he has never been an informant for the FBI or any other law enforcement agency.”
The statement’s release came after Texas Sen. Ted Cruz earlier Tuesday grilled an FBI official on whether bureau agents or informants were present at the Jan. 6 riots and a few days after Republican Reps. Matt Gaetz of Florida and Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia held a press conference on the Jan. 6 anniversary about potential FBI agents or informants provoking the rally. All of them mentioned Epps by name.
Chairman Bennie Thompson, a Mississippi Democrat, told the Washington Examiner that the select committee decided to release the statement about Epps in part because of the “accusation on the Senate side about it,” adding that the committee had talked to Epps “several weeks ago.”
For Gaetz, the statement raised more questions. “Ray Epps was thanked by the select committee despite having increased criminal acuity on Jan. 6. This makes his involvement even more suspicious. When Republicans take control, we’ll put him under oath in front of America and ask the real questions,” he told the Washington Examiner in a statement.
Kinzinger was the most vocal member of the select committee attempting to quash the theories. In an eight-tweet thread, Kinzinger railed against the members of Congress who raised questions about Epps and pushed the unproven theory that federal agents or informants provoked the riot.
“He didn’t enter the Capitol on Jan. 6, and was removed from the most wanted list because apparently he broke no laws,” Kinzinger said.
2) He was on video the day before Jan 6 saying “we’re going INTO the capitol!” The some in the crowd chanted “fed fed fed.” Why? Who knows, maybe they knew he was videoed talking about breaking into the Capitol the day before it was to happen and wanted to create distance?
— Adam Kinzinger (@AdamKinzinger) January 11, 2022
In the day after the committee released its statement on Epps, Kinzinger fired off more than two dozen tweets about theories surrounding Epps and federal agents provoking an attack. But his attempt to disprove the theories caused those who raised them to accuse Kinzinger of trying to protect a riot provocateur.
“Why Adam Kinzinger defending him and thanking him?” Greene, who is banned from Twitter, posted on the alternative social media platform GETTR. “If this was an organized ‘insurrection’ then how is Ray Epps NOT guilty because he didn’t go in the Capitol, but somehow Members of Congress, innocent Trump admin employees, and others are somehow guilty of planning an insurrection?”
Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie, who in October played video of Epps before he asked Attorney General Merrick Garland about the video and asked him to put to rest the theory that FBI assets or agents were present on Jan. 6 and agitated people to go into the Capitol, tweeted in response to Kinzinger that his question remains unanswered.
Cruz continued to bring up Epps that evening in a Fox News appearance after the committee put out its statement.
“We know the FBI put him out on the list they wanted information about, and magically, he disappeared,” Cruz said. “There needs to be transparency, and the Biden administration needs to fess up: Is this a politicized law enforcement operation that is targeting the enemies of the president, and did they actively encourage and solicit illegal conduct?”
Fox News host Tucker Carlson, who had discussed Epps and the possibility of other federal provocateurs, indicated that he did not think the statement told the whole story.
“Would the committee be willing to broaden that statement and affirm in writing that Ray Epps wasn’t working with any government agency, law enforcement or otherwise?” Carlson asked on his show Tuesday evening.
Much of what is known about Epps came to the attention of lawmakers and Carlson because of writing and reporting by Darren Beattie, a former Trump official who now is at the right-wing website Revolver News. He, too, was not satisfied with the committee’s statement, tweeting, “Was this under oath? What are Epps’ exact words? Is this denial consistent with, say, Epps working for Army Counter-Intelligence? With him doing contract work, either formal or informal with some Pentagon/JTTF counter intel equity?”
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That was not the reaction the committee was hoping for.
“The circulation of propaganda and disinformation about Jan. 6 continues to be a serious problem, and the committee wants to do whatever we can to combat lies about the events of Jan. 6,” Maryland Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin, a member of the Jan. 6 committee, told the Washington Examiner when asked about the Epps statement.
