Fox News was hit with a defamation lawsuit on Wednesday by Trump supporter Ray Epps after former host Tucker Carlson repeatedly called Epps an undercover FBI agent who orchestrated the January 6 insurrection at the US Capitol.
Carlson said Epps, an Arizona resident and former marine, “helped stage-manage the insurrection” – a conspiracy he broadcast in nearly 20 episodes.
Carlson also told viewers that Epps was recorded urging the mob to enter the Capitol building, but that he never entered himself.
Epps’s lawsuit, which was filed in Delaware, comes months after the conservative network’s parent organization settled a defamation lawsuit for $787.5m with Dominion Voting Systems for spreading falsehoods about the outcome of the 2020 election.
Epps claims he and his wife, Robyn, have received death threats and that their lives were ruined because of Carlson’s conspiracies.
The lawsuit reads: “As Fox recently learned in its litigation against Dominion Voting Systems, its lies have consequences.”
The lawsuit describes Epps as a “loyal Fox viewer and Trump supporter” and rejeted the notion he was a federal agent.
Before the lawsuit, Epps’s lawyer Michael Teter sent Fox News a cease-and-desist letter, demanding an on-air apology and retraction of the conspiracy theory. Teter said the network did not respond to the letter.
Legal experts noted earlier this week that while Epps will have to prove that Carlson’s claims damaged his reputation, he presents a strong argument and therefore probably has standing.
David D Lin of the Lewis & Lin LLC law firm said he believed “there is a lot of potential risk here to Fox and they need to take the claims very seriously,” before adding that Carlson could be personally liable if the suit included him.
Epps could face charges himself for his role in the January 6 insurrection. He was questioned by the House January 6 committee, though a criminal investigation is still ongoing.
