A Delaware court has dismissed a defamation lawsuit against Fox News brought by a Marine veteran purported to have been a federal agent who egged on the Jan. 6 rioters. Former Fox host Tucker Carlson was among the media figures promoting the conspiracy theory.
The reports that Judge Jennifer L. Hall ruled Ray Epps had failed to prove that Carlson acted with "actual malice"—the standard in such cases. Epps to a disorderly conduct count last year in connection to the Capitol riot and received probation.
Fox News and Tucker Carlson now face another defamation lawsuit over their coverage of the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election. Ray Epps says a right-wing conspiracy theory was built around him, which Fox and Carlson, who no longer works for the network, repeatedly aired, reports. The conspiracy theory was that the Trump supporter was working as an undercover FBI agent on Jan.
6, 2021, and helped provoke the riot at the Capitol. Epps, who now lives in Arizona with his wife, Robyn, said the fantastical story" destroyed their lives by sparking threats and harassment. Fox settled a defamation suit filed by Dominion Voting systems for nearly in April.
A Jan. 6 video showed Epps saying, "We need to go into the Capitol!" the night before the attack. He argues in the suit that he thought the building would be open to the public and protesters could go inside legally.
On Jan. 6, Epps protested for a short time outside the Capitol. He was interviewed by the FBI but not charged.
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