Exclusive: Ray Epps encouraged J6 protesters to move forward through tear gas, actor Jay Johnston says: 'Breathe it in!'



Former "Bob's Burgers" actor Jay Johnston said he witnessed suspected federal informant Ray Epps encourage protesters to push toward the Capitol while they were being tear-gassed on January 6, 2021.

Johnston told Blaze News in an exclusive interview he was fired from his role in the hit animated series and "blacklisted" from Hollywood after he was convicted for his participation in the protests at the Capitol.

Having since received a full pardon from President Trump, the actor revealed that he witnessed Epps make strange demands of the crowd on January 6.

'We did this in boot camp!'

"I was standing next to some guys that started arguing, some protesters," Johnston recalled. "One guy was yelling at the police, and then another protester came up to him and started yelling at him, and then they were yelling back and forth at each other right in front of me," he continued.

"I was thinking, 'Why are these two protesters fighting? Why is this guy with a big mouth yelling at this guy?' And then this other dude steps in, who turns out to be Ray Epps, who was pinpointed as a possible government employee."

Epps was widely theorized to be a government or law enforcement insider after footage was released showing him encouraging crowds on January 5 to go into the Capitol building the following day.

Footage showed Epps saying, "We need to go into the Capitol! Into the Capitol!" and "We're not here to fight, man. We're here to storm the Capitol."

"I believe he is [a government employee]," Johnston continued. "But [Epps] came in there and was like, 'Oh, come on, guys,' you know, telling them to shut up or stop fighting. Then, tear gas gets launched into the crowd. ... You can't even breathe. So I turned on my heels and started running away, and I could hear Ray Epps in the background say, 'Breathe it in, you p***ies! We did this in boot camp! Come on, you p***ies!'"

Johnston explained that Epps stood "in the tear gas" and was "yelling at people."

"I thought, 'Well, he seems like an ex-Marine or something.' I had no idea, but I thought that was kind of funny. And then later when he was pointed out as being an agitator, it made sense," Johnston added.

Ray Epps, in the red Trump hat, center, gestures to a line of law enforcement officers, as people gather on the west front of the US Capitol. Photo by Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

When recalling events from that day, Johnston said he was "naive" to think that confidential informants or human sources would not be planted within the crowd.

"A lot of this comes in retrospect because I was not at that event with that filter of 'who might be a government asset,' 'who might be an informant or a [confidential human source],'" Johnston remembered.

According to NBC News, Johnston pleaded guilty to a felony offense of obstructing officers during a civil disorder and was sentenced to a year and a day in prison.

Johnston told Blaze News his sentence was made through a plea deal, and he was scheduled to go to prison on February 6, 2025, but was issued a pardon by the president.

"Thank God for Trump. He stepped in," Johnston said.

My fiancé Jay Johnston was just pardoned! 🎉🇺🇸🥂
— Sara Radovanovitch (@the_cats_meowww) January 21, 2025

Johnston was noted as having assisted at least four others at the Capitol who had injuries from tear gas and helped them wash their eyes out. However, he was also accused of being part of a group that pinned a D.C. Metro Police officer against a door frame; the accusation led to his conviction.

Johnston denied the way his actions were characterized by media outlets.

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Ray Epps Included In Trump’s Blanket J6 Pardon

'Full, complete and unconditional pardon'

Professional musician who used to hire Ray Epps as his handyman shares shocking theory



Pat Gray invited professional musician Shem von Schroeck and Blaze News investigative journalist Steve Baker on the show to dive into Ray Epps theories you won’t hear anywhere else.


Schroeck, oddly enough, knew Ray Epps on a personal level at one point.

“Ray Epps was my handyman from 2008 to 2010/11. Probably did 6-7 jobs at my house,” says Schroeck, describing Epps as a “6’4”+ giant man” who “tells you his politics right away.”

“He offered me an Oathkeepers card with his name and number on it,” and said, "'Hey, you gotta come to meetings; we need guys like you,'” Schroeck recalls, adding that Epps saw himself as “George Washington” who could “save the world.”

“[Epps] was the head of the Arizona chapter of Keepers back then,” adds Baker.

As for the conspiracy theory that Epps was working with the FBI on January 6, Schroeck says, “There’s nothing in me that believes that.”

When he first heard Tucker Carlson mention the FBI theory on Fox, Schroeck’s immediate response was, “I’m not buying the FED thing.”

“This guy would never betray his cause. I think he was used,” he explains, adding that if the FBI was looking for someone who could draw the masses to the Capitol, Epps is “the perfect guy.”

Baker agrees. “If you can convince a guy like that that he's doing the work of God and country, that's the thing.”

“So I think the epilogue to the whole thing is after the fact, when he realized he was duped, he made a deal — do not talk about how you were quote ‘recruited,’ and we’ll let you off easy,” Schroeck concludes.

To hear more about this theory and Schroeck’s history of touring with world-famous musicians, watch the clip above.

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'Ray Epps was my handyman': Ex-Toto bassist reveals to Blaze News unlikely connection to notorious January 6 figure



In an exclusive, wide-ranging interview with Blaze News investigative journalist Steve Baker, musical composer Shem von Schroeck revealed his surprising connection to Ray Epps, one of the most notorious figures in the January 6, 2021, protest at the United States Capitol.

Schroeck, the former bassist for Toto, Kenny Loggins, and many other music legends, told Baker that Epps served as his handyman from roughly 2008 to 2011. He revealed that the two had several conversations about politics and Epps' involvement with the Oath Keepers.

Epps, who was caught on camera urging protesters to storm the Capitol building, was offered a plea deal in which he received one year of probation for a single misdemeanor charge, thus dodging any prison time.

The Justice Department's apparent soft treatment of Epps' case, when compared to the heavy-handed sentencing of others present at the Capitol that day, sparked rumors that he was either on the government's payroll or, at the very least, used as an unwitting pawn.

Baker and Schroeck addressed the speculation surrounding Epps.

'He handed me a card for his Oath Keepers.'

"Ray Epps was my handyman," Schroeck told Baker. "He was in my home, over the course of two years, seven, eight times."

Schroeck explained that Epps' work at his home included installing a ceiling fan, drywall repair, and an unsuccessful attempt to fix a leak in the roof.

"Ray's a talker," he noted. "Every job he would do, we'd wind up in my driveway talking for 30 minutes, like can't-get-rid-of-him kind of thing."

Schroeck stated that Epps was open about his political ideology and the two found some common ground.

"First time he came, he handed me a card for his Oath Keepers," Schroeck told Baker, stating that Epps had persistently pushed him to join the group.

"He sees himself as a patriot. He sees himself as fighting for a cause for freedom like the Founding Fathers," he continued.

Schroeck stated that he never got the impression that Epps was a government operative.

"He wasn't working for the fed wittingly," he speculated.

Schroeck's impression of Epps mirrored those of New York Times journalist Alan Feuer, who previously told Baker that Epps was a "big oaf" who "couldn't put his pants on each morning without" his wife's help.

"I'm telling you, he isn't a fed, and he's totally believable," Feuer stated.

Baker asked Schroeck whether he agreed with the journalist's take on Epps.

Schroeck again noted that he was only speculating, stating, "If you're a clever enough person, you can find ways to use another person's passion against them."

"In this case, I think he was recruited by someone in the government, thinking he's doing the right thing," Schroeck remarked.

Baker told Blaze News that Schroeck's assessment of Epps echoed his view of the events surrounding the January 6 protest.

"Everybody wants to call this 'fedsurrection,'" he stated. "They want us to focus on or believe that the FBI or the CIA recruited Ray Epps in some nefarious context. But the reality is, to the extent that he was used, or whoever used him, did it in such a way that they elicited in him his feelings about patriotism, of he was doing the work of God and country by calling people to go into the Capitol."

"That makes it a very nuanced context, as opposed to the black-and-white version of Ray Epps as a fed," Baker remarked.

Speaking of Schroeck’s analysis, Tiffany Jones, Epps' daughter, told Blaze News, “He is 100% accurate, Steve. I have said repeatedly and openly he’s not smart enough to do s*** on his own but he’s dumb enough in a way and whoever knew which strings to tug on to get him to do what he did. Either way, he’s gonna go on living his happy life while others suffer and don’t even want to live any more. Such is life is all I say/feel any more.”

During the interview with Baker, Schroeck also revealed his friendship with Bill O'Reilly, for whom he composed the theme for the reporter's "No Spin News" show.

Baker asked Schroeck whether he was ever a victim of "cancel culture" for his politically conservative-leaning beliefs while working in the leftist-dominated music industry.

"No," he responded. "I haven't revealed it. This will be the first time anyone has ever known how I think about anything."

Also for the first time, Schroeck disclosed why he left Toto. For years, fans speculated that conflict with other members drove Schroeck to make his abrupt exit in 2019.

Baker and Schroeck discussed rumors about the potential infighting.

Schroeck noted that he "wasn't hired in the band to have an opinion about anything."

"I was there to play bass and sing and show up on time with a smile on my face," he added.

Schroeck described the band's dynamic as "a little Lord of the Flies" after David Paich left the group. He noted instances of "hate and animosity" resulting in immature squabbles that made the experience unenjoyable and "toxic."

As a result, Schroeck left Toto after only a few years. However, he never previously revealed the reasons behind his decision, leading some fans to theorize that he was pushed out by conflict with Steve Lukather, the original lead guitarist.

Schroeck acknowledged that Lukather shared some disparaging words about him after he left the band but squashed any rumors that the two had tension while working together.

"I have stacks of emails, screenshots of text messages of him heaping praise on me, like bring-tears-to-your-eyes kind of stuff," Schroeck told Baker.

When asked why he chose to speak out now about his departure from Toto, Schroeck replied, "It's been five years. I've been out of the band longer than I was in it."

"I've been silent too long," he declared.

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Newly surfaced J6 video shows Ray Epps whisper to right-wing influencer: 'We're here to storm the Capitol'



Newly surfaced footage allegedly shows Ray Epps rallying people to go into the Capitol building the night before the riot in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 6, 2021.

Truth in Media released previously unseen video clips of Epps reportedly urging supporters of former President Donald Trump to go "into the Capitol."

Footage shows Epps purportedly instructing the crowd, "I'm gonna put it out there – I'm probably going to go to jail for it, okay – tomorrow, we need to into the Capitol! Into the Capitol!"

Video shows some people at the impromptu "Stop the Steal" rally reacting by saying, "No!" Others booed the idea of storming the Capitol, and some are heard chanting: "Fed! Fed! Fed! Fed!"

Epps appears to respond by ordering the crowd to infiltrate the Capitol building "peacefully."

The eye-opening footage was taken by Anthime "Tim" Gionet – best known as right-wing influencer Baked Alaska.

Last January, the Trump-supporting livestreamer was sentenced to 60 days in prison after pleading guilty to a single misdemeanor count of parading, demonstrating, or picketing inside a Capitol building.

Epps is apparently seen on video telling Gionet, "In fact tomorrow – I don't even like to say it because I'll be arrested – we need to go in to the Capitol."

Baked Alaska reacts by telling other Trump supporters, "I didn't see that coming."

Gionet walks away from Epps.

However, Epps interacts with Gionet 10 minutes later.

The night before the Capitol riot, Baked Alaska's livestream video appears to show Epps leaning in to whisper to Gionet, "We're not here to fight man. We're here to storm the Capitol."

Baked Alaska laughs off the idea.

Epps allegedly replies, "I'm not kidding."

Gionet then dismisses Epps, "Alright, have a good night, be safe. Be safe brother.

Speaking of Epps' orders to go into the Capitol, Gionet told journalist Lara Logan, "This is scripted because he said the same exact line word for word three times and that’s not natural."

In September, Epps pleaded guilty to a single misdemeanor charge of disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted area.

Epps has consistently denied that he is an informant or a federal agent – including during testimony before the Jan. 6 House select committee and in a "60 Minutes" interview.

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