FBI Director Christopher A. Wray became visibly agitated as he strongly pushed back against suggestions that undercover FBI agents and a man named Ray Epps instigated the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
“If you are suggesting that the violence that happened at the Capitol on Jan. 6 was part of some operation orchestrated by FBI sources or FBI agents, the answer is ‘no, it was not’ and to suggest otherwise is a disservice to our hardworking, dedicated law enforcement professionals,” Mr. Wray said in testimony before the House Judiciary Committee.
Mr. Wray was responding to questions from Rep. Troy Nehls, Texas Republican, who accused Mr. Wray of covering up Mr. Epps’ role in the attack.
Some Republicans and Trump supporters have accused Mr. Epps, a former Marine who was at the Capitol on Jan. 6, of being an FBI plant who encouraged the pro-Trump mob to riot in order to stop Congress from certifying President Biden’s 2020 election win.
Mr. Epps has denied the allegations and insists he never worked for law enforcement. On Wednesday, he filed a lawsuit against Fox News, accusing the network of defamation for promoting the story that he’s an undercover agent who encouraged rioters to become violent.
He can be seen on video on Jan. 6 encouraging demonstrators to march with him and enter the Capitol. At one point he pushed past a police barricade into a restricted part of the Capitol grounds, but he also pleaded for restraint during another part of the video.
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“Ok, folks spread the word! As soon as the president is done speaking, we go to the Capitol. The Capitol is this direction,” he said on the video.
He was also seen on video the night of Jan. 5, 2021, asking other people to “go into the Capitol” the next day before others began chanting “Fed, Fed, Fed” at him.
The theory that Mr. Epps was an undercover agent has been fueled by the fact that he is not among the hundreds facing criminal charges stemming from the attack. Proponents of this theory say that’s because the Justice Department is protecting him.
Mr. Nehls noted that three people who never entered the Capitol are facing criminal charges for their actions on Jan. 6, but Mr. Epps has not been charged.
“Are you going to arrest Mr. Epps? Yes or No?” Mr. Nehls asked Mr. Wray. “You can see him [on video]. He’s encouraging people — I almost think he’s inciting a riot — the night prior, to go into the Capitol; the day of, to go into the Capitol and he was at the first breach and he breached the restricted area.”
“If you don’t arrest Mr. Epps, there is a reason behind it. I believe you know it is. It seems to me you are protecting this guy,” Mr. Nehls said.
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Mr. Wray fired back, “It has never been appropriate for an FBI director in congressional testimony to be weighing in on who is or isn’t going to be arrested and who is or isn’t going to get charged when it’s a prosecutor’s decision.”
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
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