Month: September 2023

The former U.S. marine who became the center of a Jan. 6, 2021, conspiracy theory, has been charged with a misdemeanor offense in connection with the U.S. Capitol riot. Ray Epps is expected to plead guilty, according to court papers filed Tuesday.

Epps is charged with disorderly or disruptive conduct on restricted grounds, court records show. Epps attorney, Edward J. Ungvarsky, said in an email that the case was filed with an anticipation that Epps would plead guilty to the charge. The judge has scheduled a plea agreement hearing for Wednesday.

Epps, a one-time supporter of Donald Trump, claimed in a lawsuit filed this year that Fox News Channel made him a scapegoat for the Capitol riot. Epps has said he went to Washington to protest the 2020 election, was falsely accused by Fox of being a government agent who was whipping up trouble that would be blamed on Trump supporters. Although the lawsuit mentions Fox News personalities Laura Ingraham and Will Cain, former Fox host Tucker Carlson is cited as the leader in promoting the theory. Epps was featured in more than two dozen segments on Carlson’s prime-time show, the lawsuit said.

Epps’s lawsuit against Fox News says the U.S. Justice Department told him in May that he faces criminal charges for his actions on Jan. 6, and he blames that on “the relentless attacks by Fox and Mr. Carlson and the resulting political pressure.” However, in an appearance before the House Judiciary Committee in July, FBI Director Christopher Wray denied having any knowledge of Epps being a “secret government agent.” Wray said: “I will say this notion that somehow the violence at the Capitol on Jan. 6 was part of some operation orchestrated by FBI sources and agents is ludicrous.”

Epps was a previously member of the far-right Oath Keepers extremist group, serving as an Arizona chapter leader before parting ways with the anti-government group a few years before the Jan. 6 attack. Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes and other members were convicted of seditious conspiracy in the Jan. 6 attack.

Editorial credit: Sebastian Portillo / Shutterstock.com

In a speech Tuesday to the United Nations General Assembly, President Joe Biden urged world leaders not to abandon Ukraine in its war against Russia. Biden implied that if the U.S. and other nations that have aided Ukraine were to withhold support, every nation would feel vulnerable and isolated in the face of an attack.

Biden warned that Russia was hoping on other nations growing “weary” of the fight, saying in his speech to UNGA: “If we allow Ukraine to be carved up, is the independence of any nation secure? I respectfully suggest the answer is no.”  Biden drew applause when saying that the United States and its allies would stand with Ukraine’s fight for freedom:  “Russia alone bears responsibility for this war. Russia alone has the power to end this war immediately.”

Biden’s remarks come as polls show that U.S. support for Ukraine’s defense is beginning to wane, despite Biden’s pledge to support Ukraine for “as long as it takes.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who attended and applauded Biden’s remarks ahead of his own speech at UNGA on Tuesday, is scheduled to. meet Thursday with Biden at the White House, as well as meet some congressional leaders.

Biden’s address at the annual gathering was the centerpiece event of his three-day visit to New York, which will include meetings with the heads of five Central Asian nations, and the leaders of Israel and Brazil. On Wednesday, Biden will meet Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and join him in an event with labor leaders from Brazil and the United States. The President will also have his first face-to-face meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu since Netanyahu regained power last December.

Editorial credit: lev radin / Shutterstock.com