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When Ray Epps, now 61, arrived in Washington DC in early January, 2021, he believed he was answering the call of his president. Mr Epps was one of the thousands of MAGA loyalists who believed former President Donald Trump's lie that the 2020 election had been stolen. He also thought he and a throng of conservative allies would protest the election's certification. The night before the Capitol riot on Jan 6, Mr Epps told a crowd of fellow Trump supporters that they should enter the Capitol. This exchange was caught on video. He did not call for violence, and later claimed that he was encouraging a peaceful protest inside the building. Nearly 900 people have been arrested for their participation in the failed insurrection that occurred the following day. Though Mr Epps is not among that number, he has nonetheless become the focus of a MAGA-world conspiracy theory placing the blame for the entire debacle squarely on his shoulders. Who is Ray Epps? Mr Epps is a former Marine who runs a wedding and event venue in Queen Creek, Arizona. He describes himself as a staunch conservative, and was a vocal supporter of former President Donald Trump. Mr Epps went to Washington DC believing that the 2020 election had been stolen. Politico has reported that Mr Epps is a former Oath Keeper, the militant right-wing gang whose members are currently under investigation on seditious conspiracy charges. Since the Capitol riot, his life has been turned upside down by the very people he once marched alongside. The conspiracy theory After failing to pin the Capitol riot on Antifa, right-wing media outlets refocused their efforts to reshape their narrative around Mr Epps. According to the New York Times, obscure right-wing outlets like Revolver Media began reporting on selectively-edited videos of Mr Epps during the Capitol riot, and later capitalised on the footage from 5 January in which he called for people to enter the Capitol. The theory claims that Mr Epps, who was not arrested in the wake of the Capitol riot despite apparently encouraging people to enter the building and participating in the event himself, could only have evaded law enforcement if he was working with the government. To explain this apparent contradiction, outlets and conspiracy theorists decided that Mr Epps had to have been an FBI agent sent into the crowd to stir dissent and set up a "false flag" event meant to justify the incarceration of hundreds of Trump supporters. Larger right-wing media platforms, including Fox News' Tucker Carlson, picked up on the story, thrusting Mr Epps into the mainstream conservative consciousness. Republican lawmakers including Senator Ted Cruz and Representatives Thomas Massie, Marjorie Taylor Greene, and Matt Gaetz leapt on the theory in their efforts to reframe the Capitol riot narrative. Mr Trump himself eventually signed onto the conspiracy theory, feeding the man who believed his lies into the right-wing conspiracy machine's ever hungry maw. What really happened? Days after the Capitol riot, Mr Epps learned that the FBI was treating him as a person of interest in its then nascent investigation into the riot. He immediately called the agency and agreed to call them to discuss what had happened. During their talks, Mr Epps insisted that he had remained peaceful and had instructed other rioters to do the same. Video footage that was eventually edited and used to suggest Mr Epps was inciting violence actually showed that he was trying to talk down other protesters who were getting angry. In one video, he tells another protester, Ryan Samsel, to relax and reminds him that the Capitol police were doing their jobs. According to the Times, Mr Samsel was questioned by the FBI and fully corroborated Mr Epps' version of events. “He came up to me and he said, ‘Dude’ — his entire words were, ‘Relax, the cops are doing their job,’” Mr Samsel told investigators. Further, Mr Epps was able to prove that he had left the Capitol before the violence began in earnest. A protester who had fallen ill required help away from the chaos, and Mr Epps volunteered to help lead them out. The fallout Since then, Mr Epps’ life has turned upside down. He has become a persona non grata in conservative circles due to his association with the conspiracy theory. After the conspiracy theory picked up steam, Mr Epps began receiving death threats and even had intruders trespass on his property. According to Mr Epps, those individuals approached him and demanded to know the "truth" about his supposed involvement with the FBI. He has had to leave his home in Arizona and is currently hiding out in an RV with his wife at an undisclosed location. Mr Epps told theTimes that he fears the direction the US is heading, and called what was done to him "criminal." “I am at the center of this thing, and it’s the biggest farce that’s ever been,” he said. “It’s just not right. The American people are being led down a path. I think it should be criminal.” Lawsuit In July 2023, Mr Epps filed a defamation lawsuit against Fox News and its former host, Tucker Carlson. Mr Epps filed the lawsuit in the Superior Court of Delaware, the same court in which Fox was given a $787.5m judgement to settle a separate defamation case brought by Dominion Voting Systems, the New York Times reports. Fox News has since sought to have the lawsuit moved to the Federal District Court in Wilmington. Mr Epps is seeking an unspecified amount in damages. The move comes after Mr Epps demanded in March that Fox News and Carlson retract their stories and issue on-air apologies to him. “Ray is taking the next steps to vindicate his rights by seeking accountability for Fox’s lies that have caused him and [his wife] Robyn so much harm,” his attorney, Michael Teter, told the Times. The lawsuit blames Fox News for spreading 2020 election fraud misinformation, painting Mr Epps as a loyal viewer who trusted the network’s commentary. “When Fox, through its on-air personalities and guests, told its audience that the 2020 election had been stolen, Epps was listening,” the complaint says. “He believed Fox. And when Epps kept hearing that Trump supporters should let their views be known on Jan. 6 in Washington D.C., Epps took that to heart.” It goes on further to claim that Fox News and Carlson made Mr Epps the “villain” of their stories, and said Carlson in particular became “fixated” on the former Marine. Read More Ray Epps sues Fox News and Tucker Carlson for ‘defamatory attacks’ after January 6 White House cheers ‘Bidenomics’ as inflation rises by only 0.2% Trump slams DoJ for scrapping immunity in E Jean Carroll suit White House cheers ‘Bidenomics’ as inflation rises by only 0.2% Trump slams DoJ for scrapping immunity in E Jean Carroll suit GOP 2024 hopeful appears to draw only six people to campaign event

New court filings in a defamation lawsuit against Rudy Giuliani show the promoters of the election fraud narrative after Donald Trump lost the presidency failed to do basic vetting of the claims they were touting -- and didn't see such vetting as necessary.

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Former Vice President Mike Pence said abortion should be banned when a pregnancy is not viable, according to the Associated Press.

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The man at the center of a right-wing conspiracy theory surrounding January 6 and the attack on the US Capitol has filed a defamation lawsuit against Fox News and Tucker Carlson for amplifying a “fantastical” story alleging he is an undercover federal agent who incited a riot. A lawsuit from Ray Epps follows a cease-and-desist letter sent to the network earlier this year, demanding that Carlson retract his “false and defamatory” statements about him and deliver a “formal on-air apology” for the “lies” he promoted. “Fox’s role in creating and disseminating destructive conspiracy theories has already been well documented,” according to the lawsuit filed in Delaware Superior Court on 12 July. Mr Epps and his wife Robyn – who both voted for Donald Trump and were “loyal” viewers of Fox and its now-former most-watched personality – were subject to campaign of “falsehoods” that “have destroyed Ray’s and Robyn’s lives,” according to the complaint, which seeks unspecified damages. The lawsuit follows a historic $787m settlement between Fox and Dominion Voting Systems, which accused the network of spreading false statements about its business in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election. Fox also has settled a lawsuit from a former producer for Carlson for $12m after she accused the company of “fostering a toxic workplace” where “truth remains a fugitive”. Though he joined the crowd on January 6, Mr Epps did not enter the Capitol, and he has not been charged with a crime – fuelling accusations from Carlson and others that federal prosecutors are protecting him. On his now-former program, Carlson said there is “no rational explanation” why this “mysterious figure” who “helped stage-manage the insurrection” had not yet been charged. “Fox repeatedly published defamatory falsehoods about Epps, including by broadcasting and rebroadcasting defamatory statements by Tucker Carlson who devoted over two dozen segments to Epps and by republishing those falsehoods” across Fox platforms, according to the lawsuit. Those claims have also been echoed by Republican members of Congress making Mr Epps the subject of legislative hearings – including on the day of the lawsuit’s filing, as House Republicans grilled FBI director Christopher Wray about alleged federal agents at the scene of the attack. “I will say this notion that somehow the violence at the Capitol on January 6 was part of some operation orchestrated by FBI sources and agents is ludicrous and is a disservice to our brave, hardworking dedicated men and women,” Mr Wray said in his sworn testimony to the House Judiciary Committee. More than 1,000 people have been arrested in connection with the riots, including more than a dozen people who have been found guilty on treason-related charges for conspiring their attack and 350 people who were convicted of assaulting or resisting law enforcement. Mr Epps also was interviewed by the House select committee investigating the events surrounding and leading up to the Capitol attack. Following Carlson’s on-air statements and a wave of allegations surrounding Mr Epps across social media, the couple received threatening messages, including death threats and a plastic bag with a bullet casing inside and voicemails threatening to burn their house down, according to the complaint, which includes several examples of harassing emails, letters and text messages. The couple was reportedly forced to move out of their home and into an RV. “Epps was not a federal agent. He was a loyal Fox viewer and Trump supporter,” the lawsuit states. Had the US Department of Justice charged him with a crime, Carlson “would have hailed Epps a hero,” according to the filing. ”After destroying Epps’s reputation and livelihood, Fox will move on to its next story, while Ray and Robyn live in a 350-square foot RV and face harassment and fear true harm,” the lawsuit alleges. “Fox must be held accountable.” The Independent has requested comment from Fox. Carlson, in his first interview since his exit from the network in the wake of the Dominion settlement, said he doesn’t know why he was fired. The network announced that Carlson “agreed to part ways” days after Fox agreed to the settlement with the voting machine company over bogus claims that Carlson privately disputed but amplified on air. Fox Corporation also reached a $12m settlement a lawsuit from Abby Grossberg, a former producer for Tucker Carlson Tonight, who alleged a culture of misogyny at the network in a federal complaint that depicted an environment where women are routinely verbally violated “by a poisonous and entrenched patriarchy.” This is a developing story Read More Everything we know about Ray Epps, the man conservatives blame for the Capitol riot Tucker Carlson’s Twitter show is haemorrhaging viewers with 85% drop from first episode, reports say Tucker Carlson doesn’t know why he was fired from Fox FBI director shoots down ‘ludicrous’ January 6 conspiracy theory

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The late actor Ray Liotta was nominated posthumously for an Emmy on Wednesday.

President Joe Biden on Wednesday hailed the “unbroken” people of Ukraine and the “incredible dignity” with which they’ve acted to repel Russia’s invading forces as he pledged on behalf of the Western world to maintain support for Kyiv’s defence for as long as necessary. Mr Biden delivered his remarks to a boisterous crowd who’d gathered hours ahead of time to hear him speak in the Great Court at Vilnius University, following the conclusion of this year’s Nato leaders’ summit, at which leaders of the 31-member defence alliance agreed to expedite Ukraine’s bid for membership in the bloc once the war with Russia has been brought to a close. The president, who was also met with one person in the crowd who held a sign marking him as a supporter of his predecessor, Donald Trump, noted the history of the place where he was speaking, and recalled how the Lithuanian yellow, green and red tricolour flag remained aloft outside the country’s diplomatic mission to Washington, even throughout the Soviet occupation of Lithuania. He said some of the older attendees in the crowd would “know better than anyone how precious the right to determine your own future is,” and praised Lithuania and the other Baltic states — Estonia and Latvia — for their strenuous advocacy for Ukraine’s defence and for Kyiv’s bid for membership in Nato. Mr Biden said that all parties involved “want this war to end,” but only on terms that will “uphold the basic principles” of the UN charter concerning national sovereignty and territorial integrity, calling those concepts “two pillars of peaceful relations among nations”. “One country cannot be allowed to seize his neighbour territory by force,” he said, adding that Moscow “could end this war tomorrow” by pulling back Russian forces from all of Ukraine’s territory, with the caveat that Moscow “has shown thus far no interest” in such an outcome because Russian president Vladimir Putin “still wrongly believes that he can outlast Ukraine”. “He can't believe it's their land, their country and their future and even after all this time, Putin still doubts their staying power,” Mr Biden said, adding that the Russian leader is “still making a bad bet” by thinking that the “conviction and the unity among the United States and our allies and partners will break down”. “He still doesn't understand that our commitment, our values, our freedom is something he can never, never, ever ever walk away from. It's who we are,” he said. “The defence of freedom is not the work of a day or a year. It's the calling of our lifetime — of all time. We’re steeled for the struggle ahead, our unity will not falter, I promise you”. Mr Biden added that the US and Western commitment to Ukraine’s defence “will not waver”. “Our commitment to Ukraine will not weaken. We will stand for liberty today, tomorrow, and for as long as it takes,” he said. The president’s remarks echoed another rousing speech he delivered in Warsaw five months ago, when he pledged “unwavering” support for Ukraine’s defence and Nato’s unity less than 24 hours after a surprise visit to Kyiv. At the time, he pledged that Ukraine “will never be a victory for Russia,” and it appears that the rest of the West is on board with Mr Biden’s plans. In addition to the Nato leaders who gathered in Vilnius this week, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida travelled there to unveil a new joint declaration from the Group of Seven in support of Kyiv’s defence. In remarks delivered following the G7 leaders’ session, Mr Biden said the joint declaration will “make it clear” that support for Kyiv from the world’s largest democracies “will last long into the future”. “This starts a process by which each of our nations and any other nation who wishes to participate will negotiate long-term bilateral or security commitments with him to Ukraine. We’re going to help Ukraine build a strong capable defence across land, air and sea ... which will enforce stability in the region and deter against any and all threats,” he said. Mr Biden reiterated the same sentiment a short time later during a bilateral meeting with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky. He praised Mr Zelensky, the actor-turned-politician who has served as Ukraine’s leader since 2019, as having “done an enormous job” and promised that the US and its allies would “make sure that you get what you need”. “And I look forward to the day when we’re having the meetings celebrating your official membership in Nato, so thank you for what you’re doing,” he said. For his part, Mr Zelensky thanked the US president for his recent decision to provide Kyiv with cluster munitions for use against Russian troops on Ukrainian soil, telling Mr Biden that the move “will help us to save us”. The announcement of the joint declaration and the meeting between Mr Biden and Mr Zelensky came after days of tension between the Ukrainian leader and his other Western counterparts over Ukraine’s prospects for membership in Nato. While the US and many other Nato nations had been skittish about giving Ukraine a path to rapid membership while the war with Russia continues, other states have pushed for an immediate change in Kyiv’s status. But the joint declaration — and an announcement from Nato that Ukraine could skip the Membership Action Plan previously laid out for the country’s membership bid and join at a future date post-war — appeared to smooth over the tension between the allies and the Ukrainian leader. Asked how long it would take for Nato to accept Ukraine once the war was over, Mr Biden quipped: “An hour and 20 minutes”. Read More Biden says support for Ukraine ‘will not waver’ in fiery Vilnius speech after Zelensky Nato meeting - live Biden and Zelenskyy praise each other despite divisions over Ukraine war Ukraine’s greatest weapon isn’t on the battlefield The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary The harrowing discovery at centre of The Independent’s new documentary

The GAA and RTÉ were among those giving evidence to an Irish parliamentary committee about streaming service GAAGO.

While this deceptively simple portrait has clearly captured the imagination of the nation, the story behind its creation and rise to fame makes it all the more compelling.