Prosecutors seek six-month sentence for Jan. 6 defendant targeted by far-right conspiracy theorists

Federal prosecutors are seeking a six-month prison sentence for a Donald Trump supporter and Jan. 6 defendant who became the focus of conspiracy theories promoted on the far right and by members of Congress.

Ray Epps, who is scheduled to be sentenced next week, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge in September. Sentencing guidelines for his crime range from zero to six months.

In a sentencing memo filed Tuesday, prosecutors wrote that a six-month sentence is justified because of Epps' alleged efforts to "inspire and gather a crowd" to storm the Capitol and overwhelm police at a key breach point.

Video from Jan. 6, 2021, shows Epps holding a large, metal-framed Trump sign that rioters jammed into the police line. A federal judge acquitted another Jan. 6 participant who had his hand on the sign, saying his intention was unclear.

In the sentencing memo, prosecutors described Epps as a "unique case in the context of January 6 defendants" after he turned himself in to the FBI shortly two days after the riot and cooperated with a series of voluntary interviews. He also tried to de-escalate tensions between the law enforcement and rioters during the attack on the Capitol.

Prosecutors noted that Epps was targeted by a far-right conspiracy theory that falsely suggested he was an undercover government agent during the riot, after his image was added to and then removed from the FBI’s Capitol Violence website.

“Other than his four years in the Marines, Epps has never been a federal agent," prosecutors wrote, adding that the fallout from the conspiracy theories forced Epps "to sell his business, move to a different state, and live reclusively."

"Nevertheless the mitigation value of these harms must still be contextualized. Many January 6 defendants have suffered adverse ancillary consequences in their lives due to their participation in the riot," they wrote. "Sentencing courts in this district have generally rejected arguments that such defendants have already been punished enough by society for their actions on January 6.”

Epps filed a defamation suit against Fox News last year, alleging that the network and former host Tucker Carlson “made Epps the central figure in a lie they concocted about January 6, 2021,” and destroyed his reputation and livelihood by repeating false claims about him. Fox News has sought to dismiss the lawsuit.

Prosecutors said in their sentencing memo that as he was targeted by the far right, Epps attributed the violence that ensued during the riot to antifa.

“Ironically, given the conspiracy theory surrounding him, Epps repeatedly attributed the violence that occurred on January 6 to undercover members of Antifa posing as Trump supporters and inciting others to hijack a righteous peaceful protest,” they wrote, citing Epps’ interview with the former House Jan. 6 committee.

An attorney for Epps did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the sentencing memo Tuesday evening.

Far-right members of the House have raised questions about Epps, as has Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, a Harvard Law graduate who previously was an associate deputy attorney general in the Justice Department. Cruz pressed an FBI official about Epps at a 2022 Senate hearing in a line of questioning just a week after Cruz appeared on Carlson’s show to apologize for using the word “terrorists” to describe criminals who committed violent, politically motivated assaults on law enforcement officers.

“Who is Ray Epps, by the way, since you are a senator?” Carlson asked Cruz during the 2022 appearance. Several days later, Cruz posed the same question to the FBI official at the Senate hearing. “Who is Ray Epps?” Cruz asked.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com