Fox News’ Tucker Carlson sent out 41,000 hours of security video Jan. 6, launching a passionate new effort to explain the deadly attack on Congress. By linking Republicans more closely to a pro-Trump conspiracy theory about the 2021 riots.
The conservative critic aired the premiere of his prime-time show on Monday to millions of viewers. It seeks to diminish perceptions about the brutal and brutal siege that plays to the world as a favorite narrative of former President Trump. There were few additional performances on Tuesday amid calls from critics to stop.
The Fox News action comes as Trump is running for president again and the cable news giant’s chief executive admitted in a court ruling that it had spread the former’s false claims. The president about the 2020 election despite personally denying Trump’s assertions.
This effort was coordinated with Republican work on Capitol Hill, led by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy of Bakersfield, who had handed over security footage to Fox. January 6, carefully documented with testimony Most of them from the Republican Party. and video evidence How Trump Incited His Supporters to Head to Capitol and “Fought fiercely” while Congress Endorse his loss to Democrat Joe Biden.
Trump argued Tuesday that Carlson’s presentation was evidence that “Irrefutable” showing that the rioters were wrongly accused of crimes. and he thanked the hosts and speakers for their work. Carlson praised McCarthy for “correcting” the official record.
Trump again called for the release from custody of those convicted or pleading guilty to the assault charges.
meanwhile Criticism from some of the top Democrats and Republicans poured in. Against GOP efforts to spread lies about attacks seen around the world as Trump supporters cordon off US Democratic seats
Rep. Bennie Thompson, a Democrat who chaired the Jan. 6 House Select Committee investigating the riots, called McCarthy’s decision to select the security footage release. “neglect”
“The speaker decided that surrendering to a Fox host who spewed lies and propaganda was more important than protecting Capitol,” Thompson said in a statement. He called January 6 “one of the darkest days in the history of our democracy.”
Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) called Monday night’s Fox News episode from Carlson “one of the most embarrassing hours we’ve ever seen on television.”
The visual representation of the item is “Insulting to all the police officers” who defended Capitol on Jan. 6, Schumer said, especially the family of Brian Zicknick, who died after fighting a mob. Ask his family.”
Kentucky Republican Senate Leader Mitch McConnell said it was a mistake for Fox News to portray such footage that contradicted Capitol Police’s assessment and what he and others had seen firsthand at the Kentucky Senate. Capitol on January 6
But McCarthy, who has shifted from blaming Trump for the riots, has turned down his criticism of the former president. insist on his decision by saying that the public can watch and “Draw your own conclusions”
Over the course of approximately 30 minutes, Fox screened thousands of hours of footage of the gruesome scene at Capitol that day. and staged hand-to-hand combat as the rioters surrounded the buildings. Break the window and kick it down. door to enter
But Carlson also emphasizes the image of the attacker. Some were in combat gear and carried flagpoles. Mo only went to the gilded hall. Take photos of the surrounding area during the hours-long pause in the attack.
“These people are not insurgents. They are visitors,” Carlson said.
The videos he aired focused on one of the most famous rioters, Jacob Shansley, aka “QAnon Shaman,” wearing a horned hat and topless. As he poked around the building, the officer stood by or opened the door. Chansley pleaded guilty to the charge of obstructing official operations and was sentenced to 41 months in prison.
Carlson condemned the bipartisan committee on Jan. 6 in the last Congress. and called former Republican congressmen serving on the committee Vice Chairman Liz Cheney and Rep. Adam Kinsinger liars.
Carlson is resurrecting the lies uncovered by Trump and his allies. Including Republicans in Congress that the attackers were peaceful protesters and acted like tourists. Although there was a well-documented massacre today and five people were killed in the riots and its aftermath. It is part of an effort to drop criminal charges for those charged in the attack. Many confessed and said they regretted their actions on January 6.
Capitol police officers protecting the crowd recounted their heartbreaking experience. One said she slipped and fell in someone else’s blood. while another said he was crushed by the crowd. as they worked and ultimately failed to prevent the rioters from breaking into the City Hall.
Criminal cases arising out of the riots exposed violence. Officers testified in court about being chased, beaten, dragged and feared for life. as they try to protect the town hall One person tweeted a picture late on Monday, the wounds, stitches and bruises swelling from that day.
Among those killed in the riots and its aftermath were rioter Ashli Babbitt, who was shot by police, and City Hall police officer Sicknick, who died after fighting a crowd.
Carlson broadcast footage of Sicknick in City Hall, picking up posters and politely leading protesters out the door. It shows that the officer did not die from being crushed as evidence.
It was eventually denounced by Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger as “the most disturbing allegation from last night.”
“The Department confirms that if Agent Sicknick had not fought heroically for several hours the day he was badly beaten, Agent Sicknick would not have died the next day,” Manger said in a memo to his police force.
He said the program “Cherry-picking” from quiet times of the day, ignoring “the chaos and violence that precedes or during it.”
The Sicknick family said in a statement that the footage showed Brian Sicknick bravely returning to duty after he was subjected to a chemical attack.
Brian Sicknick’s brother, Ken Sicknick, said in an interview that the family was “at a loss” about how it struggled with the multimillion-viewer network and the Speaker of the House giving access to the video.
The Jan. 6 law enforcement failures were investigated in Congress and acknowledged: Police failed to notice signs of an attack that appeared. and sufficiently slow response including reinforcements from the National Guard
More than half of the approximately 1,000 people charged with crimes related to the federal riots pleaded guilty. including more than 130 people who pleaded guilty to felony crimes, according to the Associated Press.
Members of the Proud Boys and the extreme Oath Keepers are facing rare sedition charges for their roles at the front of the attack. Several members of the Oath Keepers were convicted of sedition. Hundreds of other rioters were charged with misdemeanors. and many did not receive prison sentences.
Some Republicans on Capitol Hill are trying to relive the history of Jan. 6 through the House Executive Committee, which has opened an online portal for public submissions.
However, some GOP leaders were uncomfortable with McCarthy’s move and how the image was used.
McConnell quickly distanced himself from the effort, saying he wanted He “connects himself all” with the view of the police chief.
McConnell said, “Apparently the head of Capitol Police accurately described most of us first-hand encounters on January 6th.”
