Fox News is fighting a former reporter's lawsuit saying he was targeted and fired for challenging false claims about the riot at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021
By means ofLINDSAY WHITEHURST Associated Press
December 8, 2023, 7:18 PM
FILE – Rioters loyal to President Donald Trump stand on vehicles and on the steps of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. Jason Donner, a former Fox News producer, says in a lawsuit filed Monday, Nov. 13, 2023, that he was targeted and fired for opposing false claims about the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. Donner said he was part of a “purge” of employees who refused to report information that would please Trump and his supporters. Donner was at the Capitol during the riot and kept up his complaints about the network's coverage for months (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File)
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Fox News on Friday opposed a former reporter's lawsuit saying he was targeted and fired for challenging false claims about the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.
The network argued that Jason Donner had failed to show that he faced illegal discrimination. The nation's capital prohibits discrimination based on membership or support for a political party, but Donner has not shown that he is a member of a political party, nor that his bosses knew him for that and therefore fired him, Fox lawyers said.
“That law does not protect employees of news media organizations based on their disagreements over reporting and commentary on matters of public interest,” Fox attorneys wrote.
Donner said in his lawsuit that he was a longtime Republican who had recently joined the Democrats.
The network also questioned whether he properly informed managers when he became ill after receiving the COVID-19 vaccine, and whether he filed the lawsuit within the time allowed by law.
According to Donner's lawsuit, he was fired in 2022 as part of a “purge” of employees who refused to report only information that would “appease” former President Donald Trump and his supporters. He had been at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and had called the control room when he heard Fox News was describing the rioters as peaceful, he wrote in his complaint.