Podcaster Joe Rogan recently suggested that the Jan. 6 Capitol protests were merely an attempt by U.S. government agencies to bring down former President Donald Trump. I don’t think Rogan’s idea is far-fetched at all.
“The Jan. 6 thing is bad, but also, the intelligence agencies were involved in provoking people into the Capitol building. That’s a fact,” Rogan said during a nearly-three-hour podcast on Friday.
Rogan speculated that Ray Epps, a 61-year-old man who frequently appeared in videos breaching the Capitol grounds while ordering others to do the same, was an FBI agent.
“I think that every other person who was involved in Jan. 6 — who was involved in coordinating a break-in into the Capitol and then instigating people — they were all arrested. This guy wasn’t,” Rogan said, referring to Epps.
“Well, he clearly instigated,” he added. “He did it on camera.”
Rogan was referencing a video where Epps, who was wearing a MAGA hat, began telling Trump supporters around him to enter the Capitol. In response, the supporters chanted, “Fed!”
“I don’t know if he was a fed. I know a lot of people think he was a fed. The people that were there were calling him a fed. What I do know is when they asked the FBI, the FBI said, ‘We can’t tell you,'” Rogan continued.
A couple of weeks ago, Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) asked FBI Director Christopher Wray whether there were any undercover FBI agents present at the Capitol on Jan. 6.
“I’m not sure there were undercover agents on scene,” Wray replied.
Watch FBI Director Wray dodge @RepAndyBiggsAZ question on whether the FBI had assets in the crowd on Jan 6 on the technicality of the title Rep. Biggs used to refer to them. Once he asks about FBI “assets” in general instead of just “undercover agents,” Wray refuses to answer. pic.twitter.com/mcFURjDgLz
— Heritage Foundation (@Heritage) July 12, 2023
Rogan later spoke about how government agencies “use agent provocateurs to disrupt peaceful protests.”
“It’s a common tactic,” the podcaster said.
Rogan’s guest, comedian Jim Gaffigan, was notably skeptical of Rogan’s remarks, but that didn’t stop the famed podcaster from reiterating his comments.
“You’re saying that they’re [the government is] like: ‘We’ll make this — instead of an awkward protest — we’ll encourage it so that it’ll backfire on Trump rather than it being this rising of people that believe there was election corruption’?” Gaffigan asked.
“I think it is certainly possible,” Rogan responded.
Rogan later argued that Trump’s “disdain” for intelligence agencies could’ve motivated the agencies to infiltrate the Capitol protests and try to take down the then-president.
Joe Rogan Blows Jim Gaffigan’s Mind That Intelligence Agencies May Have Infiltrated Jan 6th
“Trump was very open about his disdain for the intelligence agencies…Throughout history people of unchecked power and unchecked influence have enemies, and Trump was their enemy.” pic.twitter.com/7MxC5B49ND
— Chief Nerd (@TheChiefNerd) July 30, 2023
“Trump set himself up against the intelligence agencies. He did it openly, and he did it brazenly, and a lot of people think it’s very dangerous,” Rogan said.
“So you’re saying when he was in Helsinki and he was saying, ‘I believe Putin more than my intelligence community,’ that was something the intelligence community was like, ‘We’re gonna get him’?” Gaffigan asked.
“Well, I think they were going to get him in any way that they could because he’s an enemy of the intelligence agencies, and he was openly talking about them being incompetent and being corrupt,” Rogan answered.
