Fox News has one more headache to add to its recent troubles: Ray Epps is suing for defamation, accusing the network and its former top host Tucker Carlson of smearing him as the chief instigator behind the January 6th riot.

Buried in Epps' lawsuit is a bombshell: nearly two and a half years after January 6th, Epps is being charged with a crime.

Epps was seen encouraging Trump supporters to enter the Capitol, but - at least until now - he avoided arrest, which led to speculation about his purpose that day.

Ray Epps sues Fox

The lawsuit says Epps, a former Marine, was an avid Trump supporter and Fox viewer who went to the Capitol because he believed the 2020 election was stolen.

Epps' lawyer accused Carlson and Fox of using Epps as a "scapegoat" in a "cartoonish conspiracy theory" depicting January 6th as a false flag attack.

“Just as Fox had focused on voting machine companies when falsely claiming a rigged election, Fox knew it needed a scapegoat for January 6th,” the complaint says. “It settled on Ray Epps and began promoting the lie that Epps was a federal agent who incited the attack on the Capitol.”

Epps and his wife Robyn ultimately had to sell their home and move into an RV, where they now "live in isolation" as a result of constant death threats, the lawsuit says.

Charges brought

The new criminal charges against Epps "conclusively demonstrate the falsehood" of the notion that Epps is a federal agent, his lawyer claims.

The charges were the fault of Fox and Carlson, who brought "political pressure" by focusing on Epps and his alleged government connection, the lawsuit says.

"The relentless attacks by Fox and Mr. Carlson and the resulting political pressure likely resulted in the criminal charges," the lawsuit states.

Fox News in turmoil

The lawsuit is the latest headache for Fox, which settled a high-profile lawsuit with Dominion Voting Systems earlier this year.

Carlson's firing added to the network's turmoil, precipitating a sharp drop in ratings. It's still not clear why Carlson was fired, and Carlson told Russell Brand in a recent interview that he doesn't know either.

"I don't know why I was fired. I really don't. I'm not angry about it. I wish Fox well," he said.

Carlson also said he had prepared an interview that never aired with Steven Sund, the former chief of Capitol Police, who told Carlson the crowd on January 6th was "filled" with feds.