The video uncovers the conspiracy theory surrounding Ray Epps, a supporter of President Trump who found himself at the center of controversy following the January 6 Capitol riots. It explores how right-wing media outlets portrayed Epps, a former member of the Oathkeepers, as a potential FBI informant who incited violence that day. Despite his initial participation, Epps insists that he had no violent intentions, aiming instead to peacefully protest what he believed was a stolen election.

Public speculation and baseless accusations forced Epps into hiding, emphasizing the consequences of misinformation. Personal accounts from Epps and his wife Robin reveal the constant fear and threats they have faced, driving them to sell their property and live discreetly. Despite FBI investigations and findings that clear him from orchestrating any chaos, the narrative persists, largely fueled by media personalities.

Main takeaways from the video:

Please remember to turn on the CC button to view the subtitles.

Key Vocabularies and Common Phrases:

1. provocateur [prəˌvɑːkəˈtɜr] - (noun) - A person who deliberately encourages people to break the law so that they can be caught. - Synonyms: (instigator, agitator, inciter)

For millions of consumers of conservative news, Ray Epps is a notorious villain, a provocateur responsible for turning peaceful protests on January 6 into a violent assault on the US Capitol.

2. conspiracy theory [kənˈspɪrəsi ˈθɪəri] - (noun) - A belief that some covert but influential organization is responsible for an unexplained event. - Synonyms: (plot theory, secret plan, collusion theory)

But his often contradictory behavior that day spawned a full-fledged conspiracy theory, casting him as a government agent who incited an insurrection.

3. insurrection [ˌɪnsəˈrɛkʃən] - (noun) - A violent uprising against an authority or government. - Synonyms: (rebellion, revolt, uprising)

But his often contradictory behavior that day spawned a full-fledged conspiracy theory, casting him as a government agent who incited an insurrection.

4. vanguard [ˈvænˌɡɑrd] - (noun) - A group of people leading the way in new developments or ideas. - Synonyms: (forefront, spearhead, front line)

That's him running toward the US Capitol alongside the vanguard of rioters who first attacked and overran police.

5. entrap [ɛnˈtræp] - (verb) - To trick or deceive someone, especially to trick someone into committing a crime so that they can be caught. - Synonyms: (ensnare, entice, lure)

The marine veteran tried to take charge. So I'm going to put it out there. I'm probably going to go to jail for tomorrow. We need to go into the Capitol, into the Capitol. What? To summon the crowd. Epps seemed so over the top. He must have been a government agent, a fed sent to entrap them.

6. smokestack [ˈsmokstæ̻k] - (noun) - A large chimney or vertical pipe which carries away smoke from a factory. - Synonyms: (chimney, flue, stack)

What happened next? At Peace Circle, where protesters first overran police, is seen as a smoking gun.

7. scapegoat [ˈskeɪpˌɡoʊt] - (noun) - A person who is blamed for the wrongdoings, mistakes, or faults of others. - Synonyms: (fall guy, sacrificial lamb, patsy)

There was an effort to make me the scapegoat.

8. pebble [ˈpɛbəl] - (noun) - A small stone made smooth by the action of water or sand. - Synonyms: (stone, rock, gravel)

They want you to turn around and focus on this pebble on the ground named Ray Epps.

9. conspiratist [kənˈspɪrətɪst] - (noun) - A person who supports a conspiracy theory. - Synonyms: (theorist, plotter, believer)

Conspiracists saw it as the true confession of an agent provocateur.

10. entrenched [ɪnˈtrɛntʃt] - (adjective) - Firmly established and difficult to change. - Synonyms: (deep-rooted, ingrained, fixed)

They've got to come up with some sort of connective tissue between Ray Epps and the FBI, and they've got none.

Ray Epps - The 60 Minutes Interview

For millions of consumers of conservative news, Ray Epps is a notorious villain, a provocateur responsible for turning peaceful protests on January 6 into a violent assault on the US Capitol. The irony is that Epps was a passionate supporter of President Trump who went to Washington to protest the 2020 election. But his often contradictory behavior that day spawned a full-fledged conspiracy theory, casting him as a government agent who incited an insurrection. Today, Epps is in hiding after death threats forced him to sell his home.

At six foot four in his desert camouflage, bright red Trump hat and military-style backpack, Ray Epps stood out from the crowd on January 6. That's him running toward the US Capitol alongside the vanguard of rioters who first attacked and overran police. It's been more than two years since the storming of the Capitol. But Ray and his wife Robin told us they relive January 6 every day of their lives.

The theory that Epps, a former member of the Oathkeepers, was an FBI informant who incited the crowd on January 6 bubbled up from a right-wing news site called Revolver News. It's not the proud boys who engage in the initial breach. It's Ray Epps. At that precise moment, how did Ray Epps know that there were going to be pipe bombs?

Ray Epps, he's on video several times encouraging crimes, riots, breaches of the Capitol. Robert Carlson has focused on Epps more than 20 times on his top radio show, a half dozen times so far this year. He's obsessed with me. Why? To shift blame on somebody else.

Marjorie Taylor Greene, Ted Cruz, Gates, they're all telling us before this thing that it was stolen. So you tell me, who has more impact on people, them or me? Epps, once a loyal Fox News watcher, told us he doesn't understand how he got cast as the villain. They believed the 2020 election had been stolen from Donald Trump and considered January 6 a legitimate protest.

Epps went to Washington with his 36-year-old son and almost immediately stepped into trouble. The night of January 5, tensions were running high. At a pro-Trump rally being live streamed, the marine veteran tried to take charge. We need to go into the Capitol, into the Capitol, what Epps said seemed so over the top.

When you said, we have to go into the Capitol, what were you thinking? I said some stupid things. My thought process was, we surround the Capitol, we get all the people there. I wanted to be there. I wanted to witness this with my own eyes. Epps went to Washington with his son and almost immediately stepped into trouble.

The next morning, January 6, Epps was out by the Washington monument, still focused on a single goal. We are going to the Capitol where our problems are. It's that direction here. While President Trump was still speaking at the Ellipse, Ray Epps walked toward the Capitol.

At Peace Circle, where protesters first overran police this is seen as a smoking gun. Epps pulled this agitated rioter aside and said something. Conspiracists say he was giving marching orders, because seconds later this happened.

Epps told us when he saw the violence, his fervor to enter the building became a desire to play peacemaker. Epps was never seen committing an act of violence that day or entering the Capitol. Police body cam video backs him up.

Epps says he left the Capitol grounds to help evacuate an injured man. I looked back at the Capitol and there was people crawling up the Capitol walls. It looked terrible. I was kind of ashamed of what was going on at that point.

Conspiracists saw it as the true confession of an agent provocateur. I was boasting to my nephew. When you add up all of these things as your critics have done, you've given them a lot of ammunition to paint you as this instigator.

If Epps was a covert plan, he is the worst covert plant of all time. Tom Jocelyn is a researcher and author tapped by the January 6 committee to help write its final report, which found evidence far-right extremists like the Proud Boys planned and executed the breach of the capitol.

Jocelyn says the committee interviewed Epps and found he wasn't important enough to put in the report. The idea that he's leading the charge or really orchestrating it is just contradicted by this mountain range of evidence.

The January 6 committee looked at the evidence, video phone records, travel receipts. So did the FBI. Epps called the FBI when he found he was on a poster seeking information after January 6.

Epps met with the FBI, like we're talking right now and went through everything. In the summer of 2021, the FBI took his picture off the bureau's website. Epps thought that would end his troubles, but it only added fuel to the conspiracy.

A new piece notes that the FBI removed a photo of Ray Epps from its most wanted page this summer. Nothing happens to him. The Epps would dispute that. After former President Trump mentioned Epps by name, harassment and death threats picked up.

It got so bad, they were forced to sell their five-acre ranch outside Phoenix. They're now in hiding, living in a 300-square-foot recreational vehicle somewhere in the Rocky Mountains. It's so sad what people have done to Ray and to us and to our lives. I have a hard time being a man, being a Marine, being on the run. I had to do the necessary things to keep my family safe.

If you're wondering what the FBI has to say about all this, for the past two years, it has said nothing. After repeated queries by 60 minutes, the bureau issued this statement. Ray Epps has never been an FBI source or an FBI employee.

Politics, Leadership, Inspiration, January 6 Capitol Riots, Ray Epps, Misinformation, 60 Minutes