Federal court rejects defamation lawsuit filed against Fox News over January 6 conspiracy theory

CROTON, N.Y. (AP) — A federal judge on Wednesday defamation case A former Donald Trump supporter against Fox News said he received death threats after the channel aired false conspiracy theories about his involvement on January 6, 2021. parliamentary revolt.

Raymond Epps, a former Marine, was accused by Fox of being a government agent who caused trouble near the Capitol that day, so the blame was placed on Trump supporters.

U.S. District Judge Jennifer L. Hall in Delaware granted Fox’s request to dismiss the case without comment.

Epps was the subject of a “60 Minutes” interview shortly before filing the lawsuit in 2023. He claimed that he and his wife sold the Arizona ranch where they lived and moved because of the harassment they faced as a result of the reports.

Epps named Tucker Carlson. fired from Fox As the most active supporter of the conspiracy theory in April 2023 for reasons that are not fully explained. At the time, Carlson was hosting Fox’s most popular show.

In a statement on Wednesday, Fox News cited two more recently dismissed defamation lawsuits against the company. They included former Biden administration disinformation expert Nina Jankowicz and Tony Bobulinski, a former business associate of Hunter Biden.

“Following the dismissals of the Jankowicz, Bobulinski, and now Epps cases, Fox News is pleased with these back-to-back decisions by federal courts protecting First Amendment press freedoms,” the network said.