On July 10, 2023, the New York Times published a piece on suspected federal informant Ray Epps, claiming that he could sue Fox News. 

This suggestion stems from a segment that former Fox host Tucker Carlson used to run on his show. He claimed that Epps was a federal agent who incited the January 6, 2021 storming of the United States Capitol. 

Initially, the events of that day consisted of largely peaceful protests against election irregularities that took place during the 2020 election cycle.

However, the protests took a violent turn, which many right-wing figures believe was the product of alleged subversive actors, such as Epps and related figures, who pushed the protestors to cause a major disruption.

Elements of the America First right believe that such subversion was designed to tarnish the image of former President Trump and the political movement he inspired.

Epps voted for Trump on two occasions. He participated in the January 6 demonstrations and the ones that took place the night prior. There is camera footage of Epps calling on the crowd of protesters to join him in breaching the Capitol.

However, in other cases caught on video, Epps called for the crowd to calm down once the situation started going violent. Epps was caught passing by several Capitol Police officers positioned at the barricades. 

However, Epps never went inside. Thus far, federal prosecutors have not pressed criminal charges against Epps.

Instead, federal prosecutors focused their resources on over 1,000 other protestors who allegedly committed acts of violence or were caught trespassing in the Capitol. 

As of now, the Justice Department’s probe into the January 6 storming of the US Capitol is still open, which means Epps could still receive an indictment for his activities on that fateful day.

During his testimony in front of the January 6 Committee on January 21, 2022, Epps stressed he didn’t act afoul of the law. 

Despite his claims that he behaved lawfully that day, many pundits on the right believe he was engaging in subversive behavior with the aim of discrediting the pro-Trump protests.