UPDATE
Nov 27, 2024 5:12 PM CST
A Delaware court has dismissed a defamation lawsuit against Fox News brought by a Marine veteran purported to have been a federal agent who egged on the Jan. 6 rioters. Former Fox host Tucker Carlson was among the media figures promoting the conspiracy theory. The New York Times reports that Judge Jennifer L. Hall ruled Ray Epps had failed to prove that Carlson acted with "actual malice"—the standard in such cases. Epps pleaded guilty to a disorderly conduct count last year in connection to the Capitol riot and received probation.
Jul 12, 2023 5:20 PM CDT
Fox News and Tucker Carlson now face another defamation lawsuit over their coverage of the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election. Ray Epps says a right-wing conspiracy theory was built around him, which Fox and Carlson, who no longer works for the network, repeatedly aired, NBC News reports. The conspiracy theory was that the Trump supporter was working as an undercover FBI agent on Jan. 6, 2021, and helped provoke the riot at the Capitol. Epps, who now lives in Arizona with his wife, Robyn, said the fantastical story" destroyed their lives by sparking threats and harassment. Fox settled a defamation suit filed by Dominion Voting systems for nearly $800 million in April.
A Jan. 6 video showed Epps saying, "We need to go into the Capitol!" the night before the attack. He argues in the suit that he thought the building would be open to the public and protesters could go inside legally. On Jan. 6, Epps protested for a short time outside the Capitol. He was interviewed by the FBI but not charged. Carlson, accused in the suit of a yearslong campaign against Epps, never directly said he was a federal agent, per the Washington Post. But in a January show, for instance, the host said Epps hadn't been charged, adding: "Why is that? Well, let's just stop lying. At this point, it's pretty obvious why that is."
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Guests and other Fox hosts made similar comments. In May, the suits says, the Justice Department told Epps he will be charged with a crime, a change of heart the suit attributes to "the relentless attacks by Fox and Mr. Carlson and the resulting political pressure." The suit says the harassment forced the couple to sell their ranch and wedding venue business and live in a 350-square-foot mobile home. "It'd be a damn shame to see that place go up in flames," one voicemail left for him said. Online sites were selling "Arrest Ray Epps" T-shirts, per the New York Times. Epps is a Marine veteran who said he had never so much as spoken to anyone working for the FBI. (More Capitol riot stories.)
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