Ray Epps sues Fox News for Capitol riot conspiracy claim

Mr Epps (centre) was outside the Capitol on 6 January 2021

A former US Marine who became the focus of right-wing conspiracies surrounding the Capitol riot is suing Fox News for defamation.

The legal action accuses Fox of telling a "fantastical story" suggesting Ray Epps was a federal agent to make him a "scapegoat" for the raid on Congress.

Mr Epps was filmed encouraging people to enter the Capitol complex in January 2021, but he was not charged.

The lawsuit, filed in court in Delaware on Wednesday, does not specify damages.

It also names Tucker Carlson, who was taken off air by the network earlier this year.

Mr Epps' lawyer says his client and his wife had to close their wedding venue business in Arizona and move to a small motorhome in Utah because of threats and harassment they endured as a result of the conspiracy theories.

Mr Epps was in Washington the night before the riot with Trump supporters near the Capitol and on the day of the riot itself.

He was seen in a video urging people to enter the building. Members of the crowd chanted back "Fed! Fed!" - accusing him of being a law enforcement official.

Mr Epps has said in interviews that he has no ties to law enforcement agencies and that he did not enter the Capitol during the riot.

He has also said he got carried away by his mistaken belief that widespread fraud swayed the 2020 election and his support for Donald Trump.

Mr Epps has said he was questioned by FBI agents, but has not been arrested in connection with the riot.

In a statement, Mr Epps' lawyer Michael Teter said the lawsuit "marks another moment of accountability".

"For years, Fox News and Mr Carlson created and amplified conspiracy theories about Ray that lacked any foundation in fact," Mr Teter said.

"They have endured significant emotional and psychological harm from the attacks," the attorney added.

It is the latest legal action against Fox News, which settled a lawsuit by voting machine company Dominion for $787.5m (£606m) in April.

Fox also faces a $2.7bn defamation lawsuit filed by another election technology company, Smartmatic, which accuses the channel of broadcasting lies that "decimated" its business.

Carl Tobias, a law professor at the University of Richmond in Virginia, told the BBC the volume of evidence that emerged during the Dominion case was vastly larger than what has so far appeared in Mr Epps' lawsuit.

"But the allegations in the complaint, if proved, might expose Tucker Carlson and Fox to some liability," Mr Tobias added.

He also said the "difficult part" for Mr Epps will be to prove "that somehow there was actual malice in the reporting, and that they were engaged in serious misconduct in neglecting to do what should have been done by way of fact checking".

The BBC has contacted Fox News and Mr Carlson for comment.

With reporting by Bernd Debusmann