Marjorie Taylor Greene repeats debunked conspiracy theory on the House floor in Jan. 6 prebuttal
Republicans let controversial Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia take to the House floor on Thursday to give a prebuttal to the prime-time hearing by the House Select Committee Investigating the Jan. 6 Attack on the U.S. Capitol.
In her speech, Greene voiced her sympathy for those jailed for participating in Donald Trump's failed coup attempt, calling them "political prisoners of war."
She complained that "nobody cares" about the Trump supporters incarcerated for attacking the Capitol in an attempt to overturn the 2020 presidential election.
"You want to know something else that we're not — probably not going to hear about?" she asked. "What about the fact that there's a man named Ray Epps?"
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"Do you know who is not in the DC jail? Ray Epps," she said. "Ray Epps is not in the DC jail."
"He also is on video over and over again telling people to go in the Capitol," she falsely claimed.
As is common when it comes to Greene, who was stripped of committee assignments after only a month in office, the reality was far removed from the claims from the QAnon congresswoman.
The Epps conspiracy theory was thoroughly debunked by The New York Times more than a month ago.
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"Prominent Republicans — including former President Donald J. Trump — have for months promoted a conspiracy theory that an Arizona man named Ray Epps was a federal informant who helped to instigate the attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. The claims, made in congressional hearing rooms, on Fox News and at Mr. Trump’s political rallies, have largely been based on a video taken just before violence erupted at the Capitol, showing Mr. Epps at the barricades outside the building whispering into the ear of a man named Ryan Samsel," the newspaper reported.
The FBI has dismissed the conspiracy theory.
"Within moments of the brief exchange, Mr. Samsel, a Pennsylvania barber, can be seen moving forward and confronting the police in what amounted to the tipping point of the riot. Despite lacking proof for their claims, many Republicans have surmised that Mr. Epps instructed Mr. Samsel to antagonize the officers. They have also pushed the notion that because Mr. Epps has not been arrested, he must have been working for the government," the newspaper reported. "But for more than a year, well before the name Ray Epps was widely known in right-wing circles, federal authorities have had information — from both him and Mr. Samsel — suggesting that he was not a government agent and did not encourage the younger man to engage with the police that day."
\u201cThe American people deserve to know exactly what happened on January 6th, 2021. \n\nThat won\u2019t happen with the cut and paste Hollywood production we\u2019re going to see tonight. \n\nRelease all the tapes, let the American people know the truth!\u201d— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 (@Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8) 1654799287