January 6 “Insurrection” figure and alleged federal provocateur Ray Epps has filed a lawsuit against FoxNews for “defamation.”

Now lawyers representing Mr. Epps and his wife are proceeding with plans to sue Fox News for defamation. “We informed Fox in March that if they did not issue a formal on-air apology that we would pursue all available avenues to protect the Eppses’ rights,” said Michael Teter, a lawyer for Mr. Epps who sent the network a cease-and-desist letter asking for an on-air apology and a retraction. After Mr. Teter did not hear from Fox about his request, he began to prepare the suit. “That remains our intent.”

Mr. Epps declined to comment on his potential suit. A Fox News spokeswoman declined to comment.

Mr. Carlson also declined to comment. But he continues to push the false notion that the Jan. 6 attack was staged by anti-Trump elements inside the government. On a podcast last week, Mr. Carlson claimed that the riot “was not an insurrection” and that the crowd that day was “filled with federal agents.”

First Amendment experts say Mr. Epps has a viable case for defamation — one reminiscent of the lawsuit the network recently settled with Dominion Voting Systems for $787.5 million, a case centered on numerous examples of false statements made on Fox News programs over an extended period.

For more on the Dominion Voting Systems suit, read BREAKING: $787.5 Million Settlement Reached in Dominion Defamation Suit Against Fox (Updated).

Ray Epps started his campaign for a retraction back in March. If you recall, video shows Ray Epps apparently directing the activity of “insurrectionists.”

I covered that demand for retraction in Ray Epps Demands Tucker Carlson Retract Allegations That He Was a Federal Plant on January 6.

On January 6, Epps was a highly visible figure in the crowd, bedecked in a MAGA hat, exhorting the crowd to push their way into the Capitol.

In a pair of videos, he seems to have been involved in organizing a breach of the police barrier using a giant Trump sign.

First, he is shown talking to the Capitol Police before the sign is used as a weapon.

In this one, you can glimpse a man of the same size, hair color, and wearing what looks to the untrained eye to be identical clothing to Ray Epps helping hurl the sign onto police.

After the “insurrection” he texted his nephew, “I was in the front with a few others. I orchestrated it.”

The most notable thing is the way Epps disproved the old adage that “no one ever talked themselves out of jail but a lot of people have talked themselves into jail.”

At first, Epps was on the FBI’s most wanted list. Here is the original bulletin.

On the FBI’s “Capitol Violence Images” website, Epps was “Photograph #16.” In the image below, on the left, you can see the website as it appeared in February 2022 and as it appears today.

According to Epps, he saw himself on the list and called the FBI, himself.

Just two days after the attack, when Mr. Epps saw himself on a list of suspects from Jan. 6, he called an F.B.I. tip line and told investigators that he had tried to calm Mr. Samsel down when they spoke, according to three people who have heard a recording of the call. Mr. Epps went on to say that he explained to Mr. Samsel that the police outside the building were merely doing their jobs, the people said.

The FBI took his word for it and removed him from the list.

None of this is to say that I’m accusing Epps of being a federal provocateur. He’s denied this allegation consistently and under oath. It is merely to point out the unique facts that Epps will have to explain in order to prevail.

Unlike the Dominion case, this one will be an uphill climb for Epps.

An indictment of Mr. Epps could also complicate his defamation case, by making any claim of reputational damage more difficult. “The centerpiece of a libel case is an alleged harm to reputation, so it for sure can become trickier to prove that you experienced a damages-incurring loss if your reputation is already poor because of true information,” said RonNell Andersen Jones, a professor at the University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law. “But the questions are often complex.”

Only if a judge allows a case to proceed, Mr. Logan said, will his lawyers know how strong their position is.

“Unlike Dominion, without Epps filing suit and getting broad discovery, we can’t be sure that Tucker Carlson had any doubts about the veracity of the allegations,” Mr. Logan said. “Or that similar doubts went up the corporate chain.”

I’m not a legal expert, but the fact that Tucker was not sued seems to be an indication that Epps’s team is anticipating Fox folding like a cheap suit. Otherwise, we could put video of Epps being deposed by Tucker’s team on pay-per-view and retire the national debt.