Ray Epps, a Trump supporter present for the January 6 Capitol riot who later became the subject and victim of various conspiracy theories is suing Fox News for defamation.
“Just as Fox had focused on voting machine companies when falsely claiming a rigged election, Fox knew it needed a scapegoat for January 6th. It settled on Ray Epps and began promoting the lie that Epps was a federal agent who incited the attack on the Capitol,” reads the lawsuit filed by Epps’s attorneys.
The theory that Epps was a federal agent tasked with inciting a riot on January 6, 2021 was popularized after a video showed him urging others to join him in entering the Capitol as the crowd shouted “Fed!” at him.
On his old platform, Tucker Carlson Tonight on Fox, former Fox News host Tucker Carlson accused Epps of having “helped stage-mange the insurrection.”
“Now we’ve asked Ray Epps on this show repeatedly to explain why he thinks he’s escaped prosecution, and we’ll ask him once again tonight, and we’ll keep asking because we think it is a very obvious and important question” declared Carlson in one segment last July.
In a subsequent interview with Darren Beattie, Carlson’s guest asserted that Epps was the “smoking gun of the entire fedsurrection.”
According to the lawsuit, the Department of Justice recently informed Epps that he would face criminal charges against him for his actions on January 6.
Epps’s legal team argues in the lawsuit that:
Fox’s portrayal of Epps has caused Epps significant damages, as a result of the false statements, Epps has suffered the single and indivisible injuries discussed previously, including but not limited to: being harassed and receiving death threats; forced to spend money to protect himself and his family; forced to give up his businesses and sell his home; forced to flee and live in isolation; and forced to face financial ruin, loss of income; loss of earning capacity loss of business and business opportunities; suffering, both mental and physical in nature; mental anguish; public humiliation; anxiety; loss of sleep; and loss of appetite.
“Epps is entitled to damages, including presumed economic damages, as a consequence of
Fox’s conduct,” they continued.
