Fox News is being sued by a man who says that former network host Tucker Carlson falsely claimed he was at the center of a January 6th conspiracy. Deadline reports that a man named Ray Epps filed a lawsuit against Fox News, accusing them of allowing Carlson to make him a “scapegoat” for the riots that took place at the U.S. Capitol by alleging that Epps was part of a “false flag” operation. Epps admitted to voting for former president Donald Trump, and being present at the rally on Jan. 6, 2021 due to a belief that Joe Biden had stolen the election, but stated that he left before the riot began.
In the lawsuit, filed with the Delaware Superior Court system, Epps’ attorneys state: “Contrary to Fox’s lies, Ray was not a federal agent of any kind, was not law enforcement of any kind, and was not any type of government agent or informant, or acting on behalf of the government in any capacity when he participated in the protests on January 6th.” Epps also alleges that Carlson spent time “bluntly telling his viewers that it was a fact that Epps was a government informant.” He added that Carlson was reliant on “distorted and selectively edited videos, combined with an untruthful voiceover and a false or misleading chyron.”
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“Having promoted the lie that Joe Biden stole the election, having urged people to come to Washington, DC, and having helped light and then pour gasoline on a fire that resulted in an insurrection that interfered with the peaceful transition of power, Fox needed to mask its culpability,” the lawsuit stated. “It also needed a narrative that did not alienate its viewers, who had grown distrustful of Fox because of its perceived lack
of fealty to Trump.” Deadline states that an attempt to reach out to Fox News for comment was not immediately returned.
On Monday, April 24, it was announced that Carlson and Fox News had parted ways. Later reports indicated that Fox News boss Rupert Murdoch had fired Carlson. Days later, Carlson took to social media to issue his first official statement on the matter. In a video message, Carlson greeted his fans and followers, then proceeded to deliver a short speech that seemingly took jabs at his critics and old network, while also recognizing his supporters.
“One of the first things you realize, when you step outside the noise for a few days, is how many genuinely nice people there are in this country and decent people who really care about what’s true,” Carlson began his video, then adding that “the other thing you notice when you take a little time off is how unbelievably stupid most of the debates you see on television are.” Carlson later announced his brand new show, which is on Twitter but is not a collaborative project with the Elon Musk-owned social media outlet.
