Ray Epps Lawyer Demands Retraction and Apology From Tucker Carlson a Day After Fox News Host Renewed Attack on His Client

A lawyer for January 6 rallygoer Ray Epps sent a letter to Fox News host Tucker Carlson demanding he retract and apologize over his extensive commentary suggestion Epps was a federal agent who incited the crowd in their violent siege of the U.S. Capitol.

The New York Times obtained a letter that Epps’ lawyer, Michael Teter, sent to Carlson with demands for a “formal on-air apology for the lies” the network allegedly aired about him.

The fanciful notions that Mr. Carlson advances on his show regarding Mr. Epps’s involvement in the Jan. 6 insurrection are demonstrably (and already proven to be) false,” Teter wrote, according to the Times. “And yet Mr. Carlson persists with his assault on the truth.”

The letter demands that Carlson and Fox News give written confirmation of their intended compliance by the end of the month. It also calls for the network to preserve records of their communication with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, as well as their correspondence with Darren Beattie, a frequent Carlson guest who pushed conspiracy theories about Epps and other rioters on his website, Revolver News.

As the Times notes: “Letters seeking retractions and apologies are often sent when lawyers are preparing to file a defamation lawsuit.”

Carlson repeatedly downplayed the riot on his prime time show, falsely describing it as a mostly peaceful protest. He has also claimed the prosecution of rioters is nothing more than a pretext to politically persecute those who acted upon former President Donald Trump’s false claims about the 2020 election. Carlson’s private text messages from the time were recently unearthed as a result of Dominion Voting Systems’ defamation lawsuit against Fox, and they reveal that he privately called Trump a “demonic force” and “a destroyer” while reaction to the attack from the former president’s supporters. Carlson has tried to walk back his private criticisms of Trump this week.

Speaker McCarthy granted Carlson exclusive access to troves of security footage from January 6, which Carlson used to minimize the violence earlier this month, in order to portray the mob as largely composed of harmless “sightseers.”

“Oddly, Mr. Carlson now also espouses the view that those rioters were akin to peaceful tourists,” Teter wrote in his letter to Fox. “This leads to the obvious question: Is Mr. Carlson now accusing Mr. Epps of provoking peaceful protests?”

Carlson has repeatedly suggested that Epps was secretly a federal agent who embedded himself in the pro-Trump crowd to incite them into rioting at the U.S. Capitol. The Fox News host has pointed to the fact that unlike hundreds of other rioters being prosecuted by the Justice Department, Epps has not been charged.

There remains no evidence that Epps worked for the government, nor to support the conspiracy theory that the riot was orchestrated by the U.S. government.

From Mediaite’s previous coverage on the subject.

Epps has been dragged into the conspiracy theory on numerous occasions by those claiming (without tangible evidence) he was a covert fed who embedded himself in the Capitol mob and incited Trump’s supporters in order to legally entrap them.

Epps was caught on video before January 6 as he called for Trump’s supporters to “go into the Capitol.” On the day of the riot, Epps was seen trying to de-escalate the situation, and even though he entered restricted Capitol grounds at the time, he never entered the building itself.

Epps was placed on the FBI’s list of persons of interest in connection with the mob, but he was removed shortly after, he was neither arrested nor charged for his actions, and he swore under oath to the January 6 Committee that he has never been a law enforcement asset

Carlson also renewed his attack on Epps just last night, while acknowledging recent news that more than 1,000 more people could still face charges relating to the Capitol riot.

“Is Ray Epps going to be among them?” Carlson asked. “Considering he is on tape multiple times calling for people to break the law, we’ll see. We’ll be watching.”

Epps has told the Times on multiple occasions that he has considered legal action against those promoting the conspiracy theory about his role at the U.S. Capitol, a theory he says has led to threats and harassment.

From the Times:.

After the false stories started gaining traction, the couple sold their house and business in Arizona and went into hiding in a mobile home in the Rocky Mountains.

“Mr. and Mrs. Epps have been subjected to threats, intimidation and harassment, resulting in significant economic and emotional damages,” Mr. Teter wrote. “Each time Mr. Carlson and Fox News spreads more misinformation about Mr. Epps, the harm redoubles.”