The sentence is being considered lenient, given that prosecutors recommended six months in prison. Chief Judge James Boasberg placed no restrictions on Epps’ travel while under probation and is requiring him to serve 100 hours of community service. Last fall, Justice Department prosecutors reached an agreement with Epps, who agreed to plead guilty to a single misdemeanor count and also to pay a $500 fine. “I have learned that truth is not always found in the places that I used to trust,” Epps stated in a letter to the court asking for leniency. “I am regretful, remorseful, deeply sorry, and angry at myself for attending the protest.” Epps, a former Marine from Arizona, has been at the center of controversy for years after being suspected of being either a federal agent or informant. Questions about potential government ties arose after video surfaced of him telling a group of protestors to go into the Capitol, which let to the crowd chanting “Fed! Fed! Fed!” His light sentencing, compared to the heavy-handed penalties handed down to hundreds of others, continues to fuel suspicions that he has government ties. Epps told the court that he was subjected to harassment after pro-Trump figures repeatedly made public assertions that he was an FBI agitator operating in the Jan. 6 crowd to entrap Trump supporters. In several incidents documented in court papers cited by the Associated Press (AP), Epps said that a busload of Trump supporters drove past a wedding venue he owned shouting threats. He also said shell casings were placed on his property, and that strangers confronted him in person telling him to “sleep with one eye open.” More than 1,100 individuals have been arrested and charged in connection with the Capitol riot, with more than 600 receiving sentences. Henry “Enrique” Tarrio, former leader of the Proud Boys, received the longest sentence, so far — 22 years in prison — even though he was not in Washington D.C. at the time of the protest.Ray Epps, a Jan. 6, 2021 protestor who was recorded on video urging people to go into the U.S. Capitol, has been sentenced to one year of probation.
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