Judge dismisses defamation suit against Fox News brought by Jan. 6 figure

A federal judge on Wednesday tossed out a defamation lawsuit against Fox News brought by a man who claimed that the network’s former star host, Tucker Carlson, had falsely accused him of being a government provocateur who instigated the violence at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Ruling from the bench in Federal District Court in Wilmington, Del., the judge, Jennifer L. Hall, dismissed the defamation claims by the man, Ray Epps. He and his lawyers had failed to prove that Mr. Carlson had acted with “actual malice,” the judge said.

Mr. Epps had accused Mr. Carlson last summer of promoting a “fantastical story” that he was an undercover agent who had helped foment the riot at the Capitol to disparage President Donald J. Trump and his followers.

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