Originally published July 12, 2023 6:00 pm PDT
Ray Epps, the individual who has been speculated to have a central role in the January 6, 2021 U.S. Capitol riots, has launched a defamation lawsuit against Fox News and its former presenter, Tucker Carlson.
Epps claims the network and Carlson promulgated an unfounded narrative that portrayed him as an undercover agent who instigated the Capitol violence to discredit then-President Trump and his followers.
The legal action was initiated in Delaware’s Superior Court, a jurisdiction where Fox News was recently issued a judgment for $787.5 million in a separate defamation lawsuit initiated by Dominion Voting Systems, according to The New York Times (NYT).
Epps’ lawsuit states that Fox News fabricated a “scapegoat for January 6th,” and “promoting the lie that Epps was a federal agent who incited the attack on the Capitol.”
Epps’ legal team hasn’t specified the amount of damages they are seeking.
The accusations against Epps, once aired on Carlson’s program, rapidly disseminated amongst Trump supporters online and within political circles, with various Republican Congress members attributing Epps’s involvement in the planning of the Ja. 6 unrest.
Epps, who has reportedly voted for Trump twice, was a key topic of discussion in public hearings, notably for Senator Ted Cruz from Texas and Representative Thomas Massie from Kentucky.
The adverse repercussions of this publicity allegedly included death threats aimed at Epps and his spouse, Robyn.
The couple was allegedly compelled to liquidate their Arizona ranch and wedding business and relocate to a remote Utah trailer park, where they now reside in a 350-square-foot mobile home.
Epps, a former Marine, has sworn under oath during his deposition to the Jan 6 committee that he has never been affiliated with any law enforcement or government agencies, including the F.B.I., C.I.A., or N.S.A. In March, via his attorney, Michael Teter, Epps demanded that Fox and Carlson retract their stories and issue a public apology on-air.
The network and Carlson, whose show has since been discontinued, failed to respond.
Epps’s lawsuit portrays him as a devoted Fox viewer, who was deceived by the network’s reporting and felt motivated to participate in the pro-Trump demonstrations around Jan 6.
The complaint says, “When Fox, through its on-air personalities and guests, told its audience that the 2020 election had been stolen, Epps was listening. He believed Fox. And when Epps kept hearing that Trump supporters should let their views be known on Jan. 6 in Washington D.C., Epps took that to heart.”
Speculations about Epps persist because the Justice Department hasn’t charged him for his actions during the riot and the preceding night.
Video evidence shows Epps encouraging protestors to join him in a march to the Capitol and breaching a police barrier to access restricted areas of the Capitol grounds.
Even more intriguing is a video that emerged showing Epps rallying a crowd on the eve of the attack to enter the Capitol, prompting some to chant “Fed! Fed! Fed!,” suspecting him to be a government agent provoking Trump supporters into unlawful acts.
Another video shows Epps whispering something into a man’s ear just moments before the man and other rioters breach the security perimeter, adding to the theory that Epps was involved in orchestrating the breach.
In his interview with the Jan 6 committee, Epps explains a text he sent to his nephew at 2:12 p.m. on Jan 6 saying he was upfront and had “orchestrated” things, NBC News reports.
“I was in the front with a few others. I also orchestrated it,” he texted his nephew.
Epps became a person of interest for law enforcement after videos emerged showing him urging people to storm the Capitol, both on the night prior to the attack and during the incident.
A picture of Epps appeared on a digital “wanted” list shortly after the event.
Epps claims he contacted the F.B.I.’s National Threat Operations Center as soon as the alert was published, with phone records indicating a conversation lasting nearly an hour.
In March 2021, Epps underwent a formal interview with the F.B.I., and by summer, his name was removed from the list of wanted suspects.
The lawsuit highlights that Carlson continually referred to Epps on his show, labeling him as “the central figure” in the Capitol attack and alleging he had “helped stage-manage the insurrection.”
Darren Beattie, owner of the right-wing website Revolver News, was frequently invited onto Carlson’s show.
The complaint describes Beattie as “the principal person driving the false story that Epps was a federal agent planted as a provocateur to trigger the Capitol violence on January 6th.”
