A two-time Donald Trump voter is suing Fox News for defamation, claiming host Tucker Carlson promoted a conspiracy theory that the man was an undercover government agent who tried to provoke the former president’s supporters into violence on Jan. 6, 2021.
In March, Ray Epps, who is from Arizona, demanded a retraction from Carlson, but Carlson never did. Epps filed the lawsuit Wednesday. In a statement, Michael Teter, Epps’ lawyer, said because of the conspiracy theory and attacks from those who believe it, Epps and his wife have lost their wedding venue business, they’ve had to sell their home and “they have endured significant emotional and psychological harm from the attacks.”
“For years, Fox News and Mr. Carlson created and amplified conspiracy theories about Ray that lacked any foundation in fact,” Teter said in a statement. “Their lies exposed Ray and his wife, Robyn, to harassment, intimidation, and abuse – voicemails warning Ray to sleep with one eye open, bullet casings found on their property, death threats sent to their home.”
The lawsuit states that Fox News needed a “scapegoat to blame other than Donald Trump or the Republican Party” after the insurrection.
“Eventually, they turned on one of their own, telling a fantastical story in which Ray Epps — who was a Trump supporter that participated in the protests on January 6th — was an undercover FBI agent and was responsible for the mob that violently broke into the Capitol and interfered with the peaceful transition of power for the first time in this country’s history,” the lawsuit reads.
Right-wing conspiracy theorists have latched on to Epps after he was seen on video the night of Jan. 5, 2021, urging supporters to enter the Capitol the next day. On the day of the insurrection, Epps was on video trying to stop someone from attacking the police. Epps was never formally charged for his participation in the insurrection because he never entered the Capitol, leading conspiracy theorists to believe he was protected because he was an undercover government agent.
In April, Epps said Carlson was “obsessed” with him.
“He’s going to any means possible to destroy my life and our lives,” Epps said in an interview with “60 Minutes” that aired in April.
After the insurrection, police put a picture of Epps on an online wanted list, according to The New York Times. The FBI interviewed Epps in March 2021, removing him from the wanted list.
In January 2022, the special House committee investigating the Capitol insurrection said in a statement that Epps cooperated and he was not a federal agent.
“Mr. Epps informed us that he was not employed by, working with, or acting at the direction of any law enforcement agency on January 5th or 6th or at any other time, and that he has never been an informant for the FBI or any other law enforcement agency,” the committee said through a spokesperson.
Fox News did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In March 2021, Dominion Voting brought a $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox News for claiming the technology company rigged the 2020 election. The lawsuit was settled in 2023, and Fox News paid Dominion Voting more than $787 million.