(TotalConservative.com) – Ray Epps, who became a controversial figure at the center of conspiracy theories about the events of Jan. 6 in Washington, D.C., is now suing Fox News for their role in perpetuating such views.
Epps, who voted for former President Donald Trump and attended the “Stop the Steal” protest on Jan. 6, alleges that Fox News Network defamed him by promoting theories that he collaborated with or worked for the FBI to help orchestrate the Capitol riot. The lawsuit specifically named former Fox News host Tucker Carlson as responsible for portraying Epps as an informant or undercover agent planted in the crowd to rally Trump supporters into attacking the Capitol.
The lawsuit alleges that the network “searched for a scapegoat” other than the former president or the GOP, turning “on one of their own” to tell “a fantastical story” where Epps, a protester supporting Trump, was an “undercover FBI agent… responsible for the mob” that invaded the Capitol building to interfere “with the peaceful transfer of power.” These allegations, the attorneys claim, have upended their client’s life and caused damages.
Carlson’s speculation about Epps’ role on Jan. 6 comes from a video of Epps that went viral online. The video depicts Epps telling other protesters on the night of January 5 to enter the building the next day. Many protesters in the surrounding crowd began to chant “Fed! Fed!” Another video surfaced from the following day showing Epps encouraging others to march onto the Capitol. On his show, while still a Fox News host, Carlson expressed the possibility that Epps, who hasn’t been arrested, was being protected by the Department of Justice because he may be working for the FBI.
Carlson’s friend and biographer, Chadwick Moore, whose new book called Tucker comes out this month, responded to the news of Epps’ lawsuit with an interesting prediction on Twitter. Moore wrote that he predicts “there will be no discovery” in the case, that the network “will settle it as a nuisance lawsuit,” and that “the ‘drive-by media’” will use it “as proof Epps wasn’t a Fed.” He then added that Fox will also use it as another “way to defame” Carlson “and his reporting.”
In April, Fox News suddenly canceled Tucker Carlson Tonight, their highest-rated show. Carlson is now hosting a new show exclusively on Twitter.
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