The content of Ray Epps' defamation lawsuit against Fox News includes a note by his attorney that the Justice Department is about to charge him for his actions, including urging people to enter the U.S. Capitol during and at demonstrations before the Jan. 6 riot. (RELATED: Famous Trump Supporter Drops Legal Bombshell On Fox News)
Page 41 of Epps' civil complaint against Fox states:
Finally, in May 2023, the Department of Justice notified Epps that it would seek to charge him criminally for events on January 6, 2021—two-and-a-half years later. The relentless attack by Fox and Mr. Carlson and the resulting political pressure likely resulted in the criminal charges.
As Axios reports:
Driving the news: Epps, who emerged at the center of right-wing conspiracy theories after he participated in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, accuses Fox News and Carlson in his lawsuit of “spreading falsehoods” that he was an undercover FBI agent and was responsible for inciting the riot.
“Just as Fox had focused on voting machine companies when falsely claiming a rigged election, Fox knew it needed a scapegoat for January 6th,” the complaint states.
“It settled on Ray Epps and began promoting the lie that Epps was a federal agent who incited the attack on the Capitol.”
The lawsuit alleges that Carlson “commenced a years-long campaign spreading falsehoods about Epps.”
Fox News has yet to respond to requests for comment. In April, the network reached a last-minute $787.5 million settlement with Dominion Voting Systems.
Smartmatic, a second voting systems company, is suing Fox for over $2 billion, alleging the network intentionally defamed the company by allowing former President Trump's allies Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell to make false claims on-air about the 2020 election. (RELATED: Fired Fox News Star Reveals Plans To Dish About Network [WATCH])
A potential trial is likely months, if not years, away. Fox lost its bid to toss the company's suit before the discovery process.
Fox News continues to top prime-time and daytime cable news viewership. However, MSNBC has considerably narrowed its competitor's lead since Tucker Carlson's dismissal.
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