Public January 6 profile · ready to claim
James Ray Epps, Sr.
Pardoned January 6 defendant; former U.S. Marine · January 6 Capitol crowd
Ray Epps became the most lied-about man of January 6 — and almost none of what was said about him was true. FACT: Ray served in the United States Marine Corps from 1979 to 1983. (Wikipedia; public record) FACT: He and his wife Robyn built a life in Arizona, running a wedding venue — the Knotty Barn in Queen Creek — five acres they landscaped by hand, a courtyard, an arch, a fountain. A place where people got married. FACT: For years, cable hosts and online sleuths pushed a conspiracy theory that Ray was a secret federal agent who instigated the whole thing. There was never any evidence for it. The lie followed him so relentlessly that he and Robyn were driven from their home by threats. FACT: In July 2023 Ray sued Fox News and Tucker Carlson for defamation over those claims. (NPR; BBC) FACT: In the end he pleaded guilty to a single misdemeanor, was sentenced January 9, 2024, and was covered by the January 20, 2025 full-pardon proclamation. A Marine. A small-business owner. A man who had his name dragged for years by people who never had the proof. Case record: United States v. Epps, No. 1:23-cr-00321-JEB, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor; sentenced January 9, 2024; pardoned January 20, 2025. This profile is unclaimed. If this is you — or your family — claiming it is free, forever.
The case file
On the record
- Case number
- 1:23-cr-00321-JEB
- Court
- U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
- Judge
- James E. Boasberg
- Defense attorney
- Edward B. Ungvarsky
- Disposition
- Pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count; sentenced January 9, 2024; covered by the January 20, 2025 full-pardon proclamation.
- Plea
- September 20, 2023
- Sentenced
- January 9, 2024
Charges
- Disorderly or Disruptive Conduct in a Restricted Building or Grounds — 18 U.S.C. § 1752(a)(2)
Sentence
One year of probation, 100 hours of community service, $500 restitution, and a $25 assessment; no term of imprisonment.
Press & news
- https://www.npr.org/2023/07/12/1187318029/fox-news-sued-ray-epps-defamation-jan-6 →
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Epps_(military_veteran) →
- https://apnews.com/article/fbbfca2fc1c13c439fca7d460237934c →
- https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/granting-pardons-and-commutation-of-sentences-for-certain-offenses-relating-to-the-events-at-or-near-the-united-states-capitol-on-january-6-2021/ →
- https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/delaware/dedce/1%3A2023cv00761/83032/51/ →
- https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/national/capitol-riots/ray-epps-center-of-jan-6-conspiracy-theories-charged-in-riot-ryan-samsel-tucker-carlson/65-dd90e60c-0078-4717-905b-fae3da0f28ae →
- https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:CTRL0000038864_-_Transcribed_Interview_of_Ray_Epps,_(January_21,_2022).pdf →
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Connection to United States v. Nichols
James Ray Epps, Sr. appears in the record of United States v. Nichols through 9 shared documents on file below. The full case — timeline, people, documents — is public and free.
Walk the whole case →Evidence on file
9 documents on file
Ryan2 documents in 1 item
Ryan Nichols' own paperwork — grievances, motions, letters, cell notes.
exhibit · Jan 6, 20212 pages
Ryan Nichols — "Goon Squad" Officer + Bodycam Index
Long handwritten catalog of evidence.com bodycam videos with timestamps showing pepper-ball deployments, super-soaker spray, taser deployments without warning, identification of plainclothes officers, including Suffolk County NY badge #6504.
Co-detainee2 documents
Corroborating witness statements and letters from fellow January 6 detainees.
exhibit
Rocky Hardie note - Three Percenter, FBI informant, Guy Reffitt, Ray Epps parallel
Handwritten note (yellow legal pad) identifying Rocky Hardie of Texas as Three Percenter, former Navy communications (DD-214 confirmed), provocateur, not charged but served with search warrant, traveled with and testifying against Guy Reffitt. Top margin notes parallel to Ray Epps and Proud Boys Confidential Human Source. Lists Agent Roo (likely Agent Rood or similar).
exhibit
Ryan Nichols handwritten Jan 6 actors network diagram - Ray Epps, Sean McHugh, et al
Handwritten relationship/network diagram by Ryan Nichols showing connections between January 6 figures: David Dempsey, Waldo, Sunshine, Redskin, Police, Ray Epps, Sean McHugh, with notations about behavior at the Capitol.
Court2 documents
Court orders, rulings, transcripts, and docket entries.
ruling · May 8, 2026
Memorandum Opinion dismissing Epps v. Fox News — May 8, 2026
Judge Jennifer L. Hall dismissed Epps’s amended defamation complaint for failure to plausibly plead actual malice. The ruling did not adjudicate every challenged statement as true.
transcript · Jan 21, 2022
Transcribed Interview of James Ray Epps, Sr. — January 21, 2022
Ninety-seven-page transcribed interview released as a supporting material of the House Select Committee. It preserves Epps’s firsthand account and denials concerning government employment or direction.
Govt response2 documents
Responses from DC DOC, the U.S. Marshals, and federal agencies.
order · Jan 20, 2025
January 20, 2025 January 6 Clemency Proclamation
Presidential proclamation commuting the sentences of fourteen named January 6 defendants to time served and granting full, complete, and unconditional pardons to the other covered convicted defendants. Person-specific status must be determined from the proclamation’s two separate clemency provisions.
other · Sep 20, 2023
Statement of Offense — United States v. Epps
Government-filed factual statement associated with Epps’s misdemeanor guilty plea. Government descriptions are attributed to the prosecution and plea record.
News1 document
Press coverage.
ruling · Jan 9, 2024
James Ray Epps sentencing record — January 9, 2024
Contemporaneous Associated Press court report documenting the probationary sentence, community service, restitution, assessment, and absence of imprisonment. Native judgment remains a capture target.