Ray Epps to Speak Under Oath With Jan. 6 House Committee: Lawyer

Ray Epps seen on Jan. 5, 2021, trying to recruit men to attack the Capitol. They accuse him of being a federal agent. CapitolPunishmentTheMovie.com/Bark at the Hole Productions

An Arizona man who was in Washington on Jan. 6 during the U.S. Capitol breach but has not been charged with any crimes will speak to the House of Representatives panel investigating the incident, the man’s lawyer says.

Ray Epps will meet with the panel on Friday at the law offices of John Blischak, a former FBI agent who is representing Epps, Blischak told The Epoch Times.

Epps will be speaking under oath.

A spokesman for the House panel did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.), a member of the committee, said last week that Epps “has cooperated with” the committee “and we thank him.”

Epps has already spoken with the panel, his lawyer told The Epoch Times.

“They were satisfied with these answers, but due to all the recent—what’s the word I want to say? Frivolous accusations—they’re placing him under oath and he'll stand by his comments,” Blischak said.

Epps was captured on video urging people to storm the Capitol before the breach and some have speculated that, due to his disappearance from the FBI’s wanted list and his not being charged in relation to Jan. 6, he is a government agent or informant.

The resident of Queen Creek, Arizona, was seen the night before the breach telling supporters of then-President Donald Trump that “we need to go into the Capitol.” His exhortations triggered chants of “fed!”

Epps was in Washington on Jan. 6, urging people to join him. He was spotted whispering in the ear of a man wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat shortly before the man helped push over a barricade outside the Capitol.

Epps was also captured on video running up a set of stairs toward the building.

Epps’ attorney told The Epoch Times last week that his client is not an FBI informant after Epps declined to answer questions, referring a reporter to the lawyer.

“I’ve been advised not to talk to anyone at this time,” Epps said.

The House panel investigating the Capitol breach is partisan, containing mostly Democrats and just two Republicans—Kinzinger and Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), both appointed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and fervently anti-Trump.

The panel has been interviewing or seeking to speak to dozens of people who they say have information germane to the investigation, including House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and Ross Worthington, a former White House official who helped draft the speech Trump delivered to supporters on The Ellipse, about two miles from the Capitol, on the fateful day.

A number of Republicans have denounced the panel’s efforts and all members asked to convey information to the committee have refused to cooperate, setting up potential subpoenas.

Joseph Hanneman and Ken Silva contributed to this report.