It’s official. A major court is has sent out a memorandum requesting the incarceration of polarizing figure from the events of January 6, 2021, Ray Epps.
The former Marine has been infamously seen in videos from both January 5 and 6 of that year encouraging and allegedly inciting people to storm the Capitol Building.
Now, according to a “Government Sentencing Memorandum” filed on Tuesday by the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, the U.S. government is requesting “that this Court sentence Defendant James Ray Epps, Sr. to six months’ incarceration, which is the high end of the applicable Sentencing Guidelines range of zero to six months.” They’re also requesting a $500 restitution payment, along with a year of “supervised release.”
The reasoning for the government’s decision to request Epps get the maximum sentence, according to the aforementioned Sentencing Guidelines, was explanation by comparison towards the end of the document to the sentence of social media influencer Brandon Straka’s sentence.
Related: Biden DOJ to Charge Blaze Journalist Covering Jan. 6: 'I'm Ready for the Fight'
In United States v. Brandon Straka, 21-cr-579 (DLF), the defendant—a social media influencer with a large following—used his platform to help incite, promote, and encourage the riot. After learning that the Capitol had been breached, Straka went to join the mob and livestreamed his participation in the riot. While Straka did not enter the U.S. Capitol building himself, he encouraged others to do so, chanted, and urged rioters to “hold the line” against the police while yelling “take it, take it” as rioters stripped a police officer of his riot shield. Straka pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of 40 U.S.C. § 5104(e)(2)(D) (disorderly conduct in the Capitol building or grounds) and Judge Friedrich sentenced him to 3 months of home detention as a condition of 36 months of probation. Epps’ conduct was worse than Straka’s, and thus, Epps deserves a harsher sentence. While both Straka and Epps helped build the mob, Epps did so over a longer time span and while acknowledging the illegal nature of the pending gathering. Straka did not participate in any acts of violence against officers; Epps contributed to two. Also unlike Straka, Epps was constantly at the front of the mob in the first three breaches, directly witnessed hand-to-hand violence against police officers, and still charged forward, taking advantage of the openings that violence created.
In clips of Epps calling on others to not only go to the Capitol but go into the Capitol, other supporters of former President Donald Trump could be heard disagreeing with Epps, going so far as to call him a “fed.” There’s no evidence, as of this writing, that Epps was working as part of the FBI or any other government agency. But, his actions now appear to be resulting in some form of repercussions.
For video of Epps' actions, watch below:
Follow Us On X
Ladies and gentlemen, the Nation's Worst Press Secretary!
— MRCTV (@mrctv) January 4, 2024
"We understand that these are times where people... you know... uh... have uh... an emotional time... and we understand that!" pic.twitter.com/JTYggbjEsd