U.S. Capitol riot instigator given probation --Ray Epps was filmed repeatedly urging fellow Stop the Steal demonstrators to enter the building --"No jail time for Ray Epps! Totally not a fed btw," Gionet wrote in a post on X on Tuesday following the sentencing. | 10 Jan 2024 | One of the alleged instigators of the U.S. Capitol riot has been sentenced to just a year's probation after pleading guilty to disorderly conduct in a restricted area, despite his prominent role in the unrest. January 6 rioter Ray Epps, must complete 100 hours of community service and pay a $500 restitution fee, Chief District Judge James Boasberg of the US District Court for the District of Columbia has ruled. The sentence is strikingly light given other defendants, including some who never entered the Capitol or weren't even in Washington, D.C., at the time of the riot were handed custodial sentences of two decades or more. The court's decision to allow Epps to "phone in" to his sentencing hearing revived suspicions that he could have been working for the FBI or another agency when he repeatedly urged groups of protesters to enter the building.