Fox News is facing a new libel lawsuit from a

6 January

protesters

at the Capitol riots of January 6, 2021

who said the network misidentified him as an FBI informant.

Ray Epps, who now lives in Utah, was repeatedly described by then-Fox News host Tucker Carlson as a federal agent who helped instigate the riot at the Capitol trying to stop the certification of President Biden’s election.

Carlson made the comments on his program over a span of nearly two years and on a series called “Patriot Purge” which will stream on Fox Nation in 2022.

according to Epps’ lawsuit

. The falsehoods about Epps were referenced by other commentators on the network,

the complaint said.

The lawsuit filed Wednesday in a Delaware federal court said Fox broadcast the false and defamatory statements about Epps with “actual malice with knowledge of falsehood or reckless disregard for truth or falsehood.” Epps is seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.

A Fox News representative had no comment on the lawsuit.

The lawsuit is the latest legal headache for Rupert Murdoch’s conservative network, which paid $787.5 million in April to settle a defamation claim from Dominion Voting Systems.

The company said Fox News aired false statements about Dominion when it covered former President Trump’s allegations of fraud in the 2020 election. Fox News faces a similar $2.7 billion lawsuit from voting machine software maker Smartmatic .

Fox News recently paid producer Abby Grossberg $12 million to settle her lawsuit alleging discrimination and a hostile workplace while working for Carlson. Grossberg was also the producer for host Maria Bartiromo, a major offender in the Dominion case.

Epps was at the Capitol on January 6, 2021. He was an ardent supporter of former President Trump and an avid Fox News watcher.

But Epps, who testified under oath before the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack by Trump protesters, denied any involvement with the FBI, which has also publicly stated that it had no connection with the agency.

Epps testified that he never worked for the government or any other law enforcement agency at the time. Yet Carlson continued to describe Epps as a principal in what he described as a false flag operation

in which

the government started the riot that happened that day, an unfounded conspiracy theory.

Epps said the false statements about “Tucker Carlson Tonight,” once the most-watched primetime program on cable news, had a devastating impact

influence

on him and his wife Robyn.

“Ray and Robyn received threatening voicemails, emails and text messages because of Mr. Carlson’s lies about Epps,” the lawsuit said. “People started driving past their farms waving guns and firing on their property.”

In an April 23 issue of the CBS newsmagazine “60 Minutes,” Epps recounted how Carlson’s false claims had caused emotional distress, ruined his Arizona-based company, and led to death threats.

The next day, Fox News pulled Carlson’s top-rated program from its primetime schedule. Carlson remains on the Fox News payroll and cannot work for another media outlet while still under contract, although he has tried to do the occasional show on Twitter.

that witch

has received much less attention.

Fox knew it needed a scapegoat for January 6 to help complete

a

itself and would appeal to its viewers,” the lawsuit said. “It settled on Ray Epps and began promoting the lie that Epps was a federal agent who initiated the attack.”

Epps describes himself in the suit as a former Marine who voted for Trump twice and as a loyal Fox News watcher.

Epps said the information he got from Fox News inspired him to attend the protests of Trump supporters who believed the election had been rigged. He can be seen on video encouraging protesters to join the march

him and enter the Capitol. He is seen going past a police barricade into a restricted area of ​​the Capitol grounds.

“When Fox, through his on-air personalities and guests, told his audience that the 2020 election had been stolen, Epps listened,” the suit said.

According to reports, Epps could still be singled out for his participation in the Jan. 6 riot.

Carlson urged viewers that Epps was the central figure in January’s film.

uari

6

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riot, but was removed from the FBI’s most wanted list and never charged. When the 6 Jan

the c

ommittee stated that Epps did not work for the FBI, Carlson told viewers that the commission was lying.