Federal agents may not have orchestrated Capitol insurrection

(KYMA, KECY/ AP News) - An Arizona man at the center of the claims that federal agents orchestrated the January 6th insurrection at the U.S. Capitol said he’s never been an FBI informant.

Ray Epps, who was filmed encouraging others to enter the U.S. Capitol, testified to the House Committee investigating that he wasn’t “employed by, working with, or acting at the direction of any law enforcement agency on jan. 5th or 6th or at any other time."

Public records show Epps appears to be a 60-year-old Queen Creek, Arizona, business owner and also appears to have been affiliated in the past with the Oath Keepers, a national militia group, in Arizona.

The FBI at one point included an image of Epps on a “wanted” list seeking information about those involved in Capitol violence, then deleted the reference in July.

The theory that Epps was an undercover FBI agent grew from a video that circulated on message boards days after the insurrection.