The Story of Ray Epps and the Mob

Taking part in a mob carries a danger much like that of reveling in being a part of the bulk (or “the folks,” or the righteous). The chance is that the mob or the bulk can flip towards you. It occurred to some Pink Guards in Mao’s time, and it’s often occurring in America too, arguably an increasing number of typically on the left as on the best, among the many Trumpians and the woke.

Think about the story of Ray Epps (“A Trump Backer’s Downfall because the Goal of a Jan. 6 Conspiracy Concept,” New York Occasions, July 13, 2022) and its newest twist. Mr. Epps was a enterprise proprietor in Arizona and a fan of Donald Trump, whose self-serving lies concerning the stolen election he believed. On the final minute, he determined to journey to the January 6, 2021 demonstration on the Capitol. Throughout a pro-Trump rally the previous night time , he was videotaped encouraging folks to peacefully march to the Capitol the following day. It’s reported that some within the mob already accused him of being a federal agent. He did go to the Capitol on January 6, additionally displaying  the path to some demonstrators. He interposed between the police and a demonstrator, telling him that the cops have been solely doing their job. He left earlier than the violence began.

After January 6, Trump’s followers tried to shift the blame for the violence on antifa demonstrators, after which on federal brokers provocateurs. They noticed the videotape of January 5. The New York Occasions defined what adopted:

The issues started for Mr. Epps virtually as quickly as Revolver Information revealed its first article about him in October. All of the sudden, there have been emailed dying threats; trespassers on his property demanding “solutions” about Jan. 6; and acquaintances, fellow members of his church, even members of the family who disowned him, he mentioned.

NBC (“Professional-Trump Protester Ray Epps Seeks Retractation of Conspiracy Concept from Tucker Carlson,” NBC Information, March 23, 2023) additional explains:

The video gained important consideration amongst some outstanding conservatives in Congress. Along with being unfold by Fox Information, the Epps conspiracy concept was featured in right-wing shops reminiscent of One America Information and Carlson’s Jan. 6 documentary collection “Patriot Purge.”

Quoting the New York Occasions once more:

Finally, Mr. Trump joined the fray, mentioning Mr. Epps at considered one of his political rallies and lending gasoline to a viral Twitter hashtag, #WhoIsRayEpps.

Epps was being witch-hunted by his personal mob. Below threats and intimidation, banned from righteous populist firm, he and his spouse offered their home and the household enterprise, and fled incognito to a cell dwelling within the foothills of the Rockies.

The newest twist is that Epps is threatening to sue Fox Information and Tucker Carlson if the latter doesn’t publicly retract his “false and defamatory statements.” I don’t personally condone antidefamation legal guidelines, which make some folks scared to talk and others extra gullible (if he has not sued, it should be true!). However it’s straightforward to grasp Mr. Epps’s anger at being betrayed by the political mob he adopted; and to sympathize together with his plight.

A associated reality illustrates the dismal state of politics, the gullibility of huge a part of the general public, and the immorality of media enablers. Former Playboy mannequin Karen McDougal had beforehand sued Fox Information after host Tucker Carlson opined that she had extorted presidential candidate Trump into not directly paying $150,000 to stop her from revealing an affair between them. In September 2020, U.S. District Choose Mary Kay Vyskocil dominated in favor of Fox Information by accepting the argument that Carlson shouldn’t be recognized for reporting details, as her choice suggests:

Fox Information first argues that, seen in context, Mr. Carlson can’t be understood to have been stating details, however as an alternative that he was delivering an opinion utilizing hyperbole for impact. … This “common tenor” of the present ought to then inform a viewer that he’s not “stating precise details” concerning the matters he discusses and is as an alternative partaking in “exaggeration” and “non-literal commentary.” … Fox persuasively argues … that given Mr. Carlson’s status, any affordable viewer “arrive[s] with an acceptable quantity of skepticism” concerning the statements he makes. … Whether or not the Court docket frames Mr. Carlson’s statements as “exaggeration,” “non-literal commentary,” or just bloviating for his viewers, the conclusion stays the identical—the statements are usually not actionable.

One may declare that each one this solely proves the existence of a conspiracy to cover Mr. Epps’s standing as a FBI agent provocateur. This isn’t completely unattainable, however impossible. Which illustrates once more the shaky epistemological standing of conspiracy theorizing.