Object of MAGA conspiracy theories Ray Epps hit with Jan. 6 charge

Ray Epps, a supporter of former President Donald Trump who conspiracists accused of being an undercover federal agent, has been hit with a misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct with the intent to disrupt a government proceeding.

Politico is reporting that Epps "is expected to offer a guilty plea to the charge Wednesday as part of a deal with prosecutors, according to an entry in the court’s docket."

Conservative media figures such as former Fox News host Tucker Carlson have claimed, without providing evidence, that Epps was a federal agent acting as a provocateur whose mission was to trick Trump supporters into launching a violent assault on the United States Capitol building.

Conspiracy theorists became suspicious of Epps because, unlike hundreds of other Capitol rioters, he had not yet been charged with any crimes – even though there is video of him egging people on to go to the Capitol.

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Epps has since filed a defamation lawsuit against Fox News and has argued that false accusations of him being a federal agent have resulted in death threats from fellow Trump supporters and have forced him and his wife to go into hiding.

"It has been a nightmare,” Epps said last year of his efforts to convince other Trump supporters that he's not a federal agent. "You can’t convince some people. There are extremists out there that you’ll never convince them that they’re wrong.”