by Revolver
The media hasn’t shown a shred of empathy for any Americans caught up in the politicized sideshow of January 6th — even the nonviolent folks who thought they were on an “approved tour” of the Capitol with friendly police escorts. The typical January 6th defendant has received zero sympathy from the mainstream media. It appears that our esteemed journalists believe that anyone who attended the January 6th event is a bona fide insurrectionist who should rot in the depths of a DOJ dungeon, except for one peculiar person: Mr. Ray Epps.
It’s peculiar how Ray has turned into a media darling and regime favorite considering he was front and center during the whole Capitol breach. He was literally calling the shots, leading the charge early on, and pretty much involved every step of the way.
As the @NYtimes correctly pointed out, Ray Epps and Megan Paradise called for "storming the Capitol" even before President Trump spoke on January 6.
Both were on the FBI's top 20 J6 wanted list.
Both have been identified since the week of J6.
Neither have been arrested. pic.twitter.com/sOTN0YvGV8
— 🇺🇸 (@FreeStateWill) May 23, 2023
Video even appears to depict Epps “assaulting” police officers by pushing a giant sign at them..
As @FreeStateWill reported in December, Ray Epps was one of the members of the crowd who helped lift up a large Trump sign and push it into the line of police officers on the West Side of the Capitol around 1:40 pm
(original video by Just Another Channel and Savanah Hernandez) pic.twitter.com/T0jE9rZksw
— Stephen Horn (@stephenehorn) March 30, 2022
Yet for some unknown reason, Mr. Epps is neither chastised, belittled, nor labeled an “insurrectionist” by the media or anti-Trump figures like Liz Cheney, Nancy Pelosi, or Adam Kinzinger. Some people speculate that this might be due to a possible connection between Mr. Epps and the government, but we still don’t have firm answers on that.
At first, Ray’s actions were completely ignored. However, once Revolver’s investigative reporting put him in the spotlight, Mr. Epps was strangely turned into a kind of “hero”; shielded, cherished, and even held up as a figure of admiration in certain circles. A number of anti-Trump politicians came to Mr. Epps’s defense at the time. Adam Kinzinger was among Ray’s most steadfast defenders.
Representative Adam Kinzinger, an Illinois Republican, took aim at GOP Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, accusing the fellow member of Congress of promoting an “absolute lie” that Ray Epps is connected to the FBI.
Allegations that Epps, a Trump supporter at the January 6, 2021 U.S. Capitol riot, was working for federal law enforcement have circulated widely within right-wing circles. No evidence has emerged corroborating the claim, and the House select committee investigating the January 6 attack has said Epps confirmed that he was not working for the FBI.
“This is an absolute lie,” wrote Kinzinger, a staunch Trump critic, on Saturday, tagging Cruz in a Saturday Twitter post. The Illinois representative shared a screenshot from a campaign email for Cruz that suggested the senator was leading the charge to discover the truth about Epps.
Now, we’re learning that Ray is suing Fox News for Tucker Carlson’s coverage of his actions on January 6th. Interestingly, just one day after that announcement, the legacy media has made a sudden and dramatic shift in their reporting on the events of January 6th. It’s no longer labeled a “riot” or an “insurrection.” Now that Mr. Epps is suing Fox News and Tucker, the January 6th chaos is referred to as “rallies” and a “protest” and a “demonstration.”
This shift by the media certainly fits a distinct regime pattern of going very easy on Mr. Epps.
RECEIPTS:
WaPo, NYTimes, Bloomberg, and Rolling Stone are now not referring to Jan 6 as an insurrection or even a riot bc they are now defending Ray Epps
Now Jan 6 was 'rallies,' 'demonstrations,' and 'protests' pic.twitter.com/D5zAlxicbP
— Jack Poso 🇺🇸 (@JackPosobiec) July 13, 2023
Here’s a closeup of the images Jack shared:
You can see the Washington Post article for yourself here. The Post uses the word “riot” only once in the entire piece besides a separate direct quote citing Fox News. The word “rioter” is nowhere to be found in the piece. Epps is referred to as a “protester” and said to have “protested.”
It’s certainly a striking shift in narrative from these publications. However, to be fair to Fox News, they’ve been relatively cautious in their reporting on the January 6th incident, mostly referring to it as a “protest.”
On the other hand, the Washington Post and the New York Times have regularly referred to it as a “riot” and an “insurrection” and calling those involved “rioters.”
The New York Times and he Washington Post have dramatically shifted their portrayal of January 6th from an alleged assassination attempt on Mike Pence to a minor “demonstration” by some disgruntled folks. If it weren’t so dangerously misleading, this type of blatant propaganda could almost be funny.
The only problem is, if those who just entered and ambled about the Capital are sent to prison, Epps should be too. If Epps is not put in jail, then all those charged with “trespassing” should be released.
But, none of that will happen.