WASHINGTON—Ray Epps, who participated in the riot on Jan. 6, 2021, at the U.S. Capitol, was sentenced on Jan. 9 to 12 months of probation.
U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia Chief Judge James Boasberg also sentenced Mr. Epps to 100 hours of community service and ordered him to pay $500 in restitution due in 60 days.
Mr. Epps—who, along with his lawyer, Edward Ungvarsky, appeared virtually via Zoom while Judge Boasberg and Assistant U.S. Attorney Mike Gordon were in the courtroom—appeared to show no emotion as Mr. Boasberg rendered the sentence.
Mr. Boasberg remarked that it was a difficult sentencing and that, while Mr. Gordon was “balanced in [his] presentation,” it is a “vast overstatement” that Mr. Epps was a leader on Jan. 6 despite having been toward the front of the mob of supporters of President Donald Trump in that he sought to diffuse tensions at least five times—a mitigating factor in the sentence.
Nonetheless, Mr. Boasberg noted that Mr. Epps went through barricades outside the Capitol despite knowing that doing so was unlawful, though Mr. Epps did not break the barricades and only turned back when he was near the Capitol steps.
Mr. Epps, 62, turned himself in to the FBI on Jan. 8 and confessed to his actions and testified before the House Jan. 6 Select Committee the following year.
Mr. Boasberg, Mr. Gordon, and Mr. Ungvarsky all criticized threats Mr. Epps had received since Jan. 6 stemming from his actions that day.
Mr. Gordon said Mr. Epps has been “unfairly scapegoated” but argued he deserves to go to prison as he committed multiple crimes even though he ultimately pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct on restricted grounds. Mr. Epps, according to Mr. Gordon, sought to intimidate Congress during its certification of President Joe Biden’s 2020 electoral victory and even attended a rally the night before the riot.
“He didn’t start the riot,” said Mr. Gordon. “He made it worse.”
Mr. Gordon presented a slideshow featuring videos of what he said were “six key incidents” of Mr. Epps playing a role on Jan. 6, including attending that Jan. 5 rally, where, according to the federal prosecutor, he “viewed this as 1776” and attempted to increase the size of the group of protesters.
The first video was of the Jan. 5 rally, during which he told protesters there that they “need to go into the Capitol—into the Capitol,” drawing calls from those around him that he was a “Fed.” The footage, however, was choppy as the playback was slow.
The second video showed Mr. Epps on Jan. 6 saying that as soon as President Trump finished his speech the The Ellipse across from The White House, it was time to go inside the Capitol. Mr. Gordon acknowledged the rhetoric was protected under the First Amendment.
The third video, which was also choppy, showed Mr. Epps breaching the barricades even though he did not break them down as Trump supporters chanted “our house” and “1776.”
The fourth video showed Mr. Epps working his way to the front of the crowd as Capitol Police Officer Caroline Edwards was knocked down.
The final three videos—all of the same incident but from different angles—showed members of the crowd holding a massive Trump 2020 banner. It appeared Mr. Epps held the banner.
At the end of the day, said Mr. Gordon, Mr. Epps made a “conscious decision” to be part of the mob and that he committed a misdemeanor that deserved a “stiff sentence.” He called for Mr. Epps to be sentenced to six months behind bars.
Mr. Ungvarsky, who argued his client should get probation, said that Mr. Epps’s “words and actions” sought to “de-escalate” the mob and that he did not go past the Capitol steps as he told the crowd to support the police officers, adding that he even rendered medical aid.
Mr. Ungvarsky remarked that Mr. Epps “broke [from] groupthink” and realized that the mob was not Antifa, as Mr. Epps had previously claimed, and that it consisted of Trump supporters. He also realized that President Biden, not President Trump, won the election, said Mr. Ungvarsky, who added that Mr. Epps viewed Jan. 6 as an “insurrection.”
Nervous, Mr. Epps, prior to Mr. Boasberg announcing the sentence, said it is a “privilege” to be a U.S. citizen and he expressed regret for being part of the mob. He said he respects the Constitution and lamented the threats he and his wife, Robyn Epps, continue to get. He said that he chooses God and the Constitution over politics and any politician—an apparent reference to President Trump.
Mr. Epps will have no travel restrictions—which is key as he is dealing with a civil suit in Delaware—but will have a gun restriction as he owns a gun. He will not be drug tested.
