Trump supporter who went into hiding over a Jan. 6 conspiracy theory says Tucker Carlson is ‘obsessed’ with him
Tucker #Tucker
Ray Epps, center, gestures to others as people gather on the West Front of the Capitol on January 6, 2021.Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
Ray Epps, a former Trump supporter, became a target of January 6 conspiracy theories.
Tucker Carlson pushed the theory, which wrongfully claimed that Epps incited the riot.
Epps told “60 Minutes” that Carlson was “obsessed” with him and was trying to “destroy” his life.
Ray Epps, a Trump supporter who went into hiding after becoming the target of a January 6 conspiracy theory, told “60 Minutes” that Tucker Carlson is “obsessed” with him.
In an interview that aired on Sunday, Epps told “60 Minutes” that Carlson is “going to any means possible to destroy my life.”
“He’s obsessed with me,” Epps also said about Carlson.
On Monday, Fox News announced that Carlson was leaving the network. It didn’t give a reason for his departure.
Epps, a 61-year-old Marine veteran and former business owner from Arizona, has been the center of a baseless theory that claimed that he worked for the FBI and helped incite the insurrection.
The theory comes from some on the far-right to blame the insurrection on federal agents, who they claimed wanted a reason to provoke a crackdown on conservatives.
The conspiracy theories have been pushed by a group of people, including Carlson, former President Donald Trump, and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene.
Carlson has mentioned Epps on his television show “Tucker Carlson Tonight” half a dozen times this year alone, 60 Minutes reported.
Epps told “60 Minutes” that he thinks Carlson continues to cover the conspiracy theory “to shift blame on somebody else.”
“If you look at it, Fox News, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Ted Cruz, [Matt] Gaetz, they’re all telling us before this thing it was stolen. So, you tell me, who has more impact on people them or me?” Epps asked.
Fox News did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment.
The conspiracy theory derives from a series of videos on social media that show Epps directing the crowd to the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
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Epps went to Washington D.C. to show his support for Trump, but never entered the Capitol and left before 3 pm. He has not been charged in relation to the attack.
He was never arrested, prompting some right-wing groups to accuse him of being an undercover FBI agent who wanted to stir up violence
The FBI denied the claim, telling “60 Minutes”: “Ray Epps has never been an FBI source or an FBI employee.” Epps has also repeatedly claimed he was an FBI agent.
The conspiratorial coverage eventually forced Epps and his wife to go into hiding after they received multiple death threats, including a letter saying that Mexican cartel members were planning to kill him. The letter was potentially a hoax, The New York Times reported last year.
The couple ended up selling their home and moving into an RV somewhere in the Rocky Mountains. Epps told The Times that he lost hundreds of thousands of dollars after he was also forced to sell his business.
“Some people have said: ‘Well just let it go and let it die down.’ What they don’t understand is that it doesn’t,” his wife, Robin, told “60 Minutes.”
April 23, 2023: This story has been updated to reflect the fact that Tucker Carlson has left Fox News.
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