Donald Trump used his Truth Social platform again today to spread widely debunked conspiracy theories blaming others for allegedly orchestrating the January 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.
In a purported response to transcripts released by the House January 6 Committee, Trump shared an out-of-context post by right-wing Dinesh D’Souza. That post sought to lay blame for the riot with ex-Oath Keeper Ray Epps and alleged “Antifa” member Jason Sullivan.
Here's what Trump posted on Truth Social:
“The Unselect Committee doesn't explain Ray Epps, Sullivan, or the 'other' ringleaders," Trump posted early Saturday morning on Truth Social. "Gee, I wonder why?"
Trump, right-wing media and other conspiracy theorists -- including Sen. Ted Cruz and Reps. Thomas Massie, Matt Gaetz and Marjorie Taylor Greene -- have long tried without evidence to scapegoat Epps as a federal informant responsible for the riot. But the testimony released this week further disproved the conspiracy theories, as Raw Story reported Thursday.
Fact checkers have long debunked the conspiracies. And the false claims against Epps “tore apart his life,” as NBC News reported this week.
And there was this from Newsweek:
“The transcripts, all produced under oath, verify similar statements Epps had already made to members of the national media, as well as audio released by defense attorneys demonstrating Epps calling the FBI to explain himself after he was listed on a roster of January 6 suspects.
“Despite efforts to clear his name, and his own statements to the press, Epps said he has since been forced to start a new life for himself, selling his business and his Arizona home when the conspiracies about his name failed to disappear.”
Even the right-wing reporting of Trump’s post inadvertently revealed how far the conspiracy theorists will go to distort the role of Epps, who has admitted to having taken part in the January 6 protest – but not as a promoter of violence, nor as an informant for the feds.
According to the right-wing outlet Newsmax, D’Souza posted this on Truth Social: "On January 6, 2021, Ray Epps texted his nephew to say, 'I was in the front with a few others. I also orchestrated it.”
But Epps’ explanation for that choice of words – a detail conveniently omitted by D’Souza – was inconveniently part of Newsmax’s own effort to discredit Epps and the “soft questioning” of January 6 committee members.
“Epps' responses were framed to suggest he had no involvement in the breaching of the Capitol,” Newsmax reported, with inadvertent accuracy.
"What I meant by 'orchestrate,' I helped people get there," Epps responded. “’Orchestrating' is the wrong word," Epps would say later in the interview, adding his wife scolded him for using that word.
"I think a few people got sucked into the heat of the moment," Epps also texted his nephew, according to the transcript.
“Early this year, the House committee rejected claims Epps was a "fed," boasting it brought him in for this interview.
"The Select Committee is aware of unsupported claims that Ray Epps was an FBI informant based on the fact that he was on the FBI Wanted list and then was removed from that list without being charged,'' a spokesperson for the House investigative panel said in a Jan. 11, 2022 statement.
