Ray Epps, who is at the center of a widespread conspiracy theory about the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol attack, said Wednesday that Fox News and former host Tucker Carlson wrote a “fantasy article” that read: was sued for defamation for promoting Epps was a covert government agent who instigated the Capitol violence as a means to discredit then-President Trump and his supporters.
The complaint was filed in Delaware Superior Court, and Fox recently filed a lawsuit against Dominion Voting Systems against allegations that the network cooperated in rigging the 2020 election against Trump. In another defamation lawsuit, we agreed to a $787.5 million settlement.
“Just as Fox focused on voting machine companies when it made false election fraud claims, Fox knew it needed a scapegoat for January 6,” the complaint said. is in “The case settled on Ray Epps and he began promoting the lie that Epps was the federal employee who instigated the Capitol raid.”
Fox News did not immediately respond to a request for comment. However, the network quickly moved to change the venue to the U.S. District Court in Wilmington, Delaware.
The lawsuit marks the latest legal complication for Fox News, which has been battling lawsuits on various fronts related to its coverage of the 2020 election and Trump’s false claim that he cheated on him to win. became. Among them are his $2.7 billion lawsuit from Smartmatic, his second technology company with voting rights, and his two separate lawsuits by Fox Corporation shareholders. Another lawsuit from Mr. Carlson’s former producer was settled by Fox for $12 million, alleging it tolerated and encouraged a toxic workplace.
Epps is seeking unspecified damages.
After unsubstantiated accusations about Mr. Epps aired on Mr. Carlson’s show, Republican lawmakers tried to link Mr. Epps to a fictitious conspiracy theory implicating him, prompting Trump supporters’ online communities to spread rapidly in politics. They were planning an attack on January 6th. Among them are Senator Ted Cruz of Texas and Rep. Thomas Massey of Kentucky, both of whom made Epps, a two-time Trump voter, the focus of their concerns at the hearings.
This reputation took a toll on Mr. Epps and his wife Robin, who both received multiple death threats, sold their five-acre ranch and wedding business in Arizona, and parked themselves in a secluded location. forced to move to a 350-square-foot mobile home A trailer park in the mountains of Utah. Online retailers have started selling t-shirts that read, “Arrest Ray Epps.” The complaint says some people recorded songs about him and posted them on YouTube, adding how he was reduced to “a cartoonish conspiracy theory character.”
Epps served in the Marine Corps, but in an affidavit before the committee on Jan. 6, he has otherwise worked in law enforcement and various governments, including the FBI, CIA, and NSA. He said through his lawyer that he had not spoken to anyone at the agency. In March, Michael Teter and Epps called on Fox and Carlson to retract reports and apologize on air for their alleged role in the Capitol riots. Neither the station nor Carlson, whose primetime show was subsequently canceled, responded.
“Ray is taking the next step to prove his right by holding Fox accountable for the lies that caused him and Robin so much damage,” Teter said in a statement Wednesday. He said:
The lawsuit paints a picture of Epps as a loyal Fox viewer who was duped by Fox reports into thinking he needed to attend pro-Trump demonstrations around January 6.
“Epps listened when Fox informed viewers through broadcast personalities and guests that the 2020 election was stolen,” the complaint reads. “He believed in Fox. And when Epps kept hearing that Trump supporters should make their voices heard in Washington, D.C. on January 6, Epps took it to heart. I kept it.”
Conspiracy theories about Mr. Epps persist, in large part because the Justice Department never indicted him for his conduct on January 6 and the night before. Epps is seen in the video urging demonstrators to march together and enter the Capitol at one point. On another occasion, however, he begged for restraint when it became clear that the situation was becoming violent. He also broke through police barricades and entered a restricted area on the Capitol grounds.
But in May, the Justice Department notified Epps that it was planning criminal charges related to his role in the Capitol attack, according to the complaint. The details of the complaint are unclear, but the fact that a complaint has been filed undermines the notion that Epps was protected because of his alleged role as a secret agent, the lawsuit said.
The attacks on Mr. Epps began in mid-2021 and were largely triggered by Mr. Epps calling on the crowds on the streets of Washington on the eve of the Capitol storming to “peacefully” participate in the entrance to the Capitol. A video of him was leaked on the internet. Some in the crowd start shouting “Federation!” Commonwealth! Federal Government! Alluded to him as a government official trying to lure Trump supporters into crime.
On the day of the attack, the man was also seen whispering into his ear just before he and another mob climbed over the police and breached the security perimeter. It’s hard to hear what Mr. Epps is saying in the video. But conspiracy theorists about him have used the moment to accuse him of issuing orders.
Law enforcement quickly took note of Epps’ suspicious behavior and put his photo on an online wanted list. Epps said he called the FBI’s National Threat Operations Center shortly after the alert went off, and phone records show he spoke with officials there for nearly an hour.
In March 2021, Mr. Epps was formally interviewed by the FBI, and by the summer the agency removed him from its wanted list.
“For Mr. Epps, this should have been the end of the matter,” the complaint reads.
Instead, Carlson and Fox branded Epps as a “villain” who could distract from the agency’s own “responsibility for lighting the fire that caused the events of January 6,” the complaint alleges. ing. Carlson became “obsessed with Mr. Epps” and began spreading the idea that Mr. Epps and the federal government were responsible for the Capitol riots, according to the paper.
The complaint details how Mr. Carlson repeatedly referred to Mr. Epps on air over the next few months, claiming he was a “central figure” in the Capitol attack and “collaborated in staging the riots.” there is
On several occasions, Mr. Carlson made Darren Beattie, owner of the right-wing website Revolver News, appear on the show, but the complaint refers to him as “a false allegation that Mr. Epps was a federal agent planted as a provocateur.” He is said to be the main person who spread the story.” To cause a riot at the Capitol on January 6th. ”
And Carlson continued to spread unsubstantiated accusations about Epps outside of Fox, the lawsuit says. As recently as March, the host appeared on a podcast and told former Fox News personality Clayton Morris: “Ray Epps was clearly working for someone. He wasn’t a pure civilian.”
