The curious case of Ray Epps

[Romanticlover]

Have you guys been following Ray Epps?
He's seen on cellphone video on the night of Jan 5th urging protestors to storm the Capitol, the crowd chanted "Fed, Fed Fed". The morning of Jan 6th he's seen on video outside the Capitol saying the same thing urging protestors to storm the Capitol. They finally charged him with a misdemeanor. Some protestors are getting 17-25 years in prison but this guy only gets charged with a misdemeanor which carries a $1000 fine. Since Jan 6th he's been saying he's a victim and he has had to hide, Tucker Carlson did an expose on his show.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/ray-epps-subject-tucker-carlsons-jan-6-conspiracy-theories-charged-doj-rcna99836

Here's the video of him in DC on Jan 5th...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erafzh-YahE

[Blkfyre]

Why is it curious?

[Romanticlover]

Why is it curious?

He incited a riot but is only being charged with a misdemeanor...almost three years after it happened.

[HighStepper]

Prior thread on Epps:  https://fantasysaloon.com/index.php?msg=14102

"Epps filed a defamation lawsuit against Fox News and former host Tucker Carlson for spreading the conspiracy theories suggesting that Epps was some sort of agent of the federal government." I hope he wins.

Lying Fucker Carlson and Fox feeding the MAGA audience's desire to claim Jan 6th riots was not the fault of Trump supporters, but rather FBI plants guided by the Left Wing.

Right Wing conspiracy spinners are claiming it is curious that Epps is just now being charged after all this time. There are many that ask the same question about Trump. February 2021the Senate on a 57-43 bipartisan voted to find Trump guilty. Not enough votes to convict. Why was Trump not indicted before the year 2021 was up?

[bats]

Tucker Carlson did an expose on his show.

It's hilarious that anyone would make this claim. Tucker Carlson has never done an exposé of any kind. His schtick is lies and propaganda for money.

[Romanticlover]

He plead guilty today and was fined $500.

https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/4214716-ray-epps-focus-of-jan-6-conspiracy-theories-pleads-guilty-to-capitol-riot-charge/

[Romanticlover]

His schtick is lies and propaganda for money.

Just like all the clowns on MSNBC.

[bats]

Just like all the clowns on MSNBC.

I must have missed the part where MSNBC fired an anchor because of lies that cost the network $787 million.

[Romanticlover]

Here's the video of Tucker Carlson, whether you like him or not, he does ask some good questions and I don't see how any jury will side with Ray Epps. It was the NY Times that originally reported on Ray Epps.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylYF6-sZkgM

[bats]

Here's the video of Tucker Carlson, whether you like him or not, he does ask some good questions and I don't see how any jury will side with Ray Epps. It was the NY Times that originally reported on Ray Epps.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylYF6-sZkgM

He asks questions predicated on his own lie, which was that Ray Epps did exactly what members of the Proud Boys did that got them charged and convicted for seditious conspiracy. Specifically, this is the lie that Tucker's viewers are too dense to see (the good parts are in bold so that you might see it):

According to the Justice Department, what Ray Epps did on that video is a federal crime.  In fact, the Biden administration has charged several people with seditious conspiracy for doing precisely what you just saw Ray Epps do: urging others to enter the capitol complex on January 6th.

Next, Tucker displays on the screen and reads aloud what he describes as a quote from a DOJ press release on the federal charges against five members of the Proud Boys:

"On Jan 6, 2021, the defendants directed, mobilized and led members of the crowd onto the Capitol grounds and into the Capitol."

Tucker continues:

Again, that's what you just saw Ray Epps try to do.

And then he goes on to claim that others who did what Ray Epps did are now in prison, but that no charges have ever been filed against Ray Epps,

despite the fact there's no question he did it because, once more, it's on tape!

So Tucker, in an earnest and sincere tone, deliberately and repeatedly equates the crimes by the Proud Boys with what we saw Ray Epps do on tape. He emphasizes the supposed equivalence between Ray Epps and the Proud Boys.

But here's the problem. What Ray Epps did isn't even close to what the Proud Boys did. Epps was yelling at a bunch of randos he didn't even know, while the Proud Boys who were charged were found to have developed a serious and organized plan to breach the capitol and disrupt the counting of ballots. They exchanged incriminating text messages, and at least one of them posted video of himself confessing to his mindset. And a lot more.

This is Tucker's typical subtle misdirection: Falsely equate two factual scenarios and ask why they aren't being viewed as the same by anyone but the super-smart Mr. Carlson. Except it's not subtle if you watch with a critical eye instead of a desire to hear the stories as he wants you to hear them.

I suppose it's not entirely the fault of Tucker's viewers that he consistently duped them with this kind of bullshit. He was doing it on purpose to generate outrage, it worked, and he was paid a lot of money for it.

[Romanticlover]

Again Tucker was just repeating what the NY Times reported, why isn't Ray Epps suing the NY Times for defamation?
Here's Ray Epps on 60 Minutes saying he was a victim...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHEEGxQKg20

If you read the comments nobody believes his story.

[bats]

Again Tucker was just repeating what the NY Times reported, why isn't Ray Epps suing the NY Times for defamation?
Here's Ray Epps on 60 Minutes saying he was a victim...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHEEGxQKg20

If you read the comments nobody believes his story.

Tucker claimed that the NY Times reported in a video documentary that Epps was caught on camera. I believe he's referring to an approximately 40-minute video published by the Times in July of last year. Here's the link to the video: https://nyti.ms/2UUXgu0 . In the bottom right corner, there's an icon that will give you the transcript. If you search the transcript, there is no mention of Epps. He might well be shown in the video, but I'm not going to watch it again a year later.

So I don't know if Tucker was lying his ass off again or what, but it's usually best to go with the simplest explanation, which in this case is that Tucker was lying his ass off.

All the other stories I found in the Times referred to Epps in the context of the conspiracy theory being reported by Fox and others that he was an FBI informant, or a plant, or whatever the loons were claiming at the time.

As to commenters not believing the story he told to 60 Minutes, are you seriously citing YouTube commenters as a data point?