Ray Epps, a Trump supporter who became the focus of right-wing conspiracy theories after he protested in Washington on Jan. 6, has filed a defamation lawsuit against Fox News and former host Tucker Carlson for claiming he was an undercover FBI agent who helped provoke the riot at the Capitol that day.
In his lawsuit, Epps accused Fox News of telling a “fantastical story” that he acted as a government-sponsored instigator of the violence that ensued as Congress sought to certify Joe Biden's electoral victory.
The lawsuit, which seeks punitive and compensatory damages to be determined at trial, argues that Carlson launched a “years-long campaign” that spread falsehoods that “destroyed” the lives of Epps and his wife, who now reside in Utah but were living in Arizona at the time.
Get top local stories in Southern California delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC LA's News Headlines newsletter.
For more on this story, go to NBC News.