Fox News has formally apologized to a Reno man falsely accused of carrying a gun to a political rally held by then-presidential candidate Donald Trump.

Austyn Crites, 35, was briefly thrust into the national political spotlight after attending a November 2016 rally at the Reno-Sparks Convention Center, where Trump called him out from the stage, accusing him of being a Democratic plant.

Crites, who was holding a “Republicans Against Trump” sign, made his way to the front, only to be forced to the ground and escorted from the premises after someone shouted that he had a gun. Security guards swept Trump offstage amid the confusing fracas.

The Secret Service quickly released Crites and confirmed he did not have a gun.

But that was far from the end of his ordeal.

Conservative and alt-right media figures had already begun denouncing Crites as an attempted assassin and a shill for Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.

Fox News was quick to join in, airing a widely viewed segment on Fox and Friends that picked up on unverified online theories about Crites and his brother committing voter fraud. The segment also suggested Crites had brought a gun to the rally, apparently ignoring the Secret Service’s earlier announcement clearing Crites.

Within hours of the rally, Crites’ personal information had been posted to pro-Trump social media groups, turning him and his family into targets for death threats and coordinated online harassment.

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Crites sued Fox for defamation in November 2017. The suit was eventually dismissed, but this month, the company apologized to Crites in a letter that admitted "Fox and Friends" had, among other things, wrongfully reported Crites' grandmother was dead.

“We now know that your grandmother did not die in 2002, as alleged in the segment,” the letter states. “In fact, we now understand that both of your grandmothers are alive. We now do not believe that you committed voter fraud by voting in the name of your grandmother. We do not contend, and never intended to contend, that you committed voter fraud or that you committed a federal felony.”

The missive, posted to Fox’s website, goes on to apologize for accusing Crites of bringing a gun to the Trump rally, even after the Secret Service agents said they hadn’t found a weapon on the premises.

"We retract the untrue statements we made about you that are corrected by this letter," the company concluded. “We apologize to you and your entire family for any embarrassment caused by our publication of these statements."

"Fox and Friends co-host Steve Doocy also retracted the story about a month after it first aired.

Crites, an Eagle Scout and high-altitude balloon inventor, could not be immediately reached for comment on the apology.

Read Fox's full apology here:

James DeHaven is the politics reporter for the Reno Gazette Journal. He covers campaigns, the Nevada Legislature and everything in between. Support his work by subscribing to RGJ.com right here.