FILE - Insurrections loyal to President Donald Trump rally at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021. Ray Epps, an Arizona man who became the center of a conspiracy theory about Jan. 6, 2021, has been charged with a misdemeanor offense in connection with the U.S. Capitol riot, according to court papers filed Tuesday. Epps is charged with a single count of a disorderly or disruptive conduct on restricted grounds. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)
WASHINGTON (AP) – Ray Epps, an Arizona man who became the center of a conspiracy theory about Jan. 6, 2021, has been charged with a misdemeanor offense in connection with the U.S. Capitol riot, according to court papers filed Tuesday.
Epps, a former Marine who claimed in a lawsuit filed this year that Fox News Channel made him a scapegoat for the Capitol riot, is charged with a count of disorderly or disruptive conduct on restricted grounds, court records show.
Messages seeking comment from an attorney representing Epps in his lawsuit against Fox were not immediately returned Tuesday. There was no attorney listed in the court docket in the criminal case filed in Washington’s federal court.
Epps was falsely accused by Fox of being a government agent who was whipping up trouble that would be blamed on Trump supporters, his lawsuit claims.
Although the lawsuit mentions Fox’s Laura Ingraham and Will Cain, former Fox host Tucker Carlson is cited as the leader in promoting the theory. Epps was featured in more than two dozen segments on Carlson’s prime-time show, the lawsuit said. Messages seeking comment were sent Tuesday to Fox News and a lawyer for Carlson.
Epps’ lawsuit against Fox says the Justice Department told him in May that he faces criminal charges for his actions on Jan. 6 and blames that on “the relentless attacks by Fox and Mr. Carlson and the resulting political pressure.”
