Ray Epps inciting people to go into the Capital, but still he is not arrested

Defenders of Ray Epps contend he has not been arrested because he didn't break the law during the Capitol riot, but a woman caught on video standing next to him is facing up to a year in prison for being in a "restricted area" — something Epps was also filmed doing.

Raechel Genco was seen on video standing just feet away from Epps on Jan. 6 as he whispered into the ear of her boyfriend, Ryan Samsel, who promptly led a mob that stormed a police barricade. But unlike Samsel, the 38-year-old Pennsylvania woman simply stood by. And unlike Epps, Genco was not seen a day earlier encouraging a crowd to enter the Capitol illegally.
That incident took place just outside the restricted area, but Epps was later filmed well inside the forbidden zone, as was Genco. But of the two, only Genco was charged with a sole count of trespassing on restricted Capitol grounds. She faces up to a year in prison if convicted.

Prosecutors presented a single frame of video footage showing Genco walking on restricted Capitol grounds in their criminal complaint. Epps was also filmed on the steps of the Capitol building in front of a police line, well inside the restricted area.

"We're holding ground — we're not trying to get people hurt," Epps was filmed telling the rioter while standing on restricted Capitol grounds.

Defenders of Epps, such as Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, say Epps is a free man because there is no evidence he engaged in acts of violence or entered the Capitol building.

The New York Times reported Tuesday that Epps committed an offense by entering a restricted part of Capitol grounds but added that the offense "has largely gone unpunished."