(Headline USA) A man taken off the FBI’s most wanted list without explanation still has not faced charges for his role in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot despite the fact that a woman caught on video standing next to him is facing up to a year in prison for engaging in the exact same conduct.
Ray Epps, who was seen on video on several different occasions the week of Jan. 6 encouraging people to break into the U.S. Capitol building, was taken off the FBI’s most wanted list without explanation, and still has not been charged with a single crime for his role in the riot, according to the Washington Examiner.
However, a woman caught on video standing next to him is facing up to a year in prison for being in the same “restricted area” as Epps. Both Epps and Rachel Genko were filmed inside the Capitol grounds, but only she faces a count of trespassing.
The refusal by federal prosecutors to charge Epps has led many Republicans to believe that he was an FBI plant.
“We know the FBI put him out on the list they wanted information about, and magically, he disappeared,” Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said.
“There needs to be transparency, and the Biden administration needs to fess up: Is this a politicized law enforcement operation that is targeting the enemies of the president, and did they actively encourage and solicit illegal conduct?” Cruz said.
But the Democrats’ Jan. 6 highly partisan select congressional committee has denied the allegation, insisting that Epps was not working on behalf of the federal government that day.
Republicans, however, remain unconvinced.
“Ray Epps was thanked by the select committee despite having increased criminal activity on Jan. 6,” Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., said in a statement.
“This makes his involvement even more suspicious,” Gaetz said. “When Republicans take control, we’ll put him under oath in front of America and ask the real questions.”
