Ray Epps sues Fox News for defamation, Carlson conspiracy theories

Ray Epps, the Arizona man accused by former Fox News star Tucker Carlson of being as a double-agent during the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, is suing Fox News for defamation.

Epps’ attorney Michael Teter notified Fox News in March that the network could face consequences if it didn’t retract and apologize for “nonsensical fantasies” Carlson amplified, insinuating Epps was involved in a plot to lure Trump supporters into the Capitol.

That incursion led to the arrest of hundreds of right-wing extremists hoping to keep Donald Trump in the White House after his electoral loss.

Having received no redress, Epps’ lawyer filed a defamation suit against the right-wing cable network in Delaware Superior Court this week. Though headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, Fox Corporation is incorporated in Delaware.

That’s also where Dominion Voting Systems sued Fox News over election lies, forcing a $787.5 million settlement in April. The release of damning racist and sexist messages from Carlson preceded that payoff.

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It’s also in Delaware that former Carlson producer Abby Grossberg sued Fox News for subjecting her to a hostile work environment before walking away with a $12 million settlement.

[ Tuckered out from lies: Tucker Carlson uses Jan. 6 footage for propaganda ]

Epps, 61, is a former Trump supporter who was filmed in D.C. the night before the Capitol was stormed, telling fellow MAGA activists they should protest inside the building while President Biden’s election was being certified. Many Trump followers falsely claimed the 2020 election was rigged.

However, there’s no evidence that Epps was among the swarms of Trump loyalists who violently entered the building, forcing elected officials to flee the Senate floor and take shelter.

The fact that Epps was never arrested led many conspiracy theorists, including Carlson apparently, to believe he was in cahoots with federal agents who later found and arrested seditionists and right-wing radicals involved in the siege.

According to Epps, he too went into hiding after the attack on the Capitol — but because he feared being hunted by the kind of rabid Trump loyalists being egged on by propagandists like Carlson.

[ Tucker Carlson and Fox News step up efforts to sell Jan. 6 revisionism, streaming service ]

Carlson, who’s now been dumped by Fox News, CNN, MSNBC and ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars,” has been criticized by law enforcement, elected officials and his own colleagues for reporting dangerous disinformation surrounding Jan. 6.

Neither Fox News nor Epps’ attorney returned a request for comment.