The select committee formed to investigate the Jan. 6, 2021, attack at the U.S. Capitol said that Ray Epps, a man at the center of unproven theories that federal authorities provoked the riot, asserted in an interview that he was not a law enforcement agent or acting as an informant.

“The Select Committee is aware of unsupported claims that Ray Epps was an FBI informant based on the fact that he was on the FBI Wanted list and then was removed from that list without being charged. The Select Committee has interviewed Mr. Epps. Mr. Epps informed us that he was not employed by, working with, or acting at the direction of any law enforcement agency on January 5th or 6th or at any other time, and that he has never been an informant for the FBI or any other law enforcement agency,” a select committee spokesperson said in a statement.