Fox News host Tucker Carlson has promised to release never-before-seen footage of the Jan. 6 riots. This will reveal new details and change public perception of the Capitol breach. However, in his first show devoted to this topic, he failed to offer a primarily smoking gun.
Carlson now has access to nearly 44,000 hours of attack by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (California Republican). The move was opposed by former members of the Jan. 6 commission, who said the Capitol Police said it was not aired due to security concerns. .
Carlson featured footage of Trump supporters roaming around the Capitol and exploring the building after the mob broke windows and broke in.
“The video record does not support the claim that January 6th was a mutiny. In fact, it refutes that claim,” Carlson said on the opening night of his show.
“We will not answer every question after January 6th. We are far from that. But Democrats in Congress [former Illinois Republican Rep.] with Adam Kinzinger [former Wyoming GOP Rep.] Liz Cheney lied about what happened that day. It’s decisive,” he added.
But Carlson left out key details in the report, redefining the roles played by different people, and reduced the violence in a day that left multiple deaths.
Here are some important parts of programming.
Disputing Ray Epps’ Timeline
Carlson’s report included security footage centered on Ray Epps, who was captured in the Jan. 5 video telling the crowd to enter the Capitol.
This has spurred many theories that he was an undercover agent or informant trying to provoke a breach of the Capitol.
Carlson nodded to that theory on his show.
“For more than two years, we have wondered why some of the crowd that day, who appeared to be inciting violence, were not charged,” Carlson said. We assumed it was a federal agent, and we’re still assuming it.”
In making that claim, Carlson revealed new details about Epps’ timeline on January 6.
and January 2022 interview At the selection committee on Jan. 6, Epps spoke about the 2:12 p.m. text message to his nephew. I coordinated that too,” Epps texted, later implying to the committee that he helped get people to the Capitol.
Epps told the commission that he must have been on his way back to his hotel room when he sent the text message at 2:12 p.m.
But Carlson showed security footage he said identified Epps on the Capitol grounds half an hour later.
“He lied to investigators. said in
Epps told the commission that he was not acting on behalf of government agencies when he was in DC – contrary to theories that he was an undercover agent or informant for the FBI.
He also said he doubted he had been indicted by the Department of Justice in connection with Jan. 6. He said he was “trying to stop the violence.”
Separately, Jan. 6 defendant Ryan Samsell (who in one of the riot’s first confrontations, Epps recorded a whisper before Samsell advanced toward police) told the FBI that Epps She said she told him to “relax.” report.
A rehash of the Brian Schicknick controversy
Carlson questions the death of Capitol Police Officer Brian Schicknick, who died the day after the attack after engaging the mob.
original report withdrew A few weeks later, he was shown dead after being hit in the head with a fire extinguisher, and the coroner later determined he died of natural causes, stating that “everything that happened played a role in his condition.” He said.
Capitol Police say the harshness of the day contributed to his death, but Carlson seemed to be focusing on details about the fire extinguisher, which was modified more than a year and a half ago.
“This is surveillance footage of Schicknick walking through the Capitol after he was supposedly murdered by a mob outside. “It is highly unlikely that he died of external trauma. Whatever happened to Brian Schicknick was clearly not the result of the violence he was subjected to at the entrance to the Capitol,” Carlson said.
“This tape debunked the single most powerful and politically beneficial lie the Democrats told us about January 6th, and it really was a lie.”
In a letter to the Capitol Police Chief this week, Capitol Police Chief J. Thomas Munger dismissed Carlson’s account outright, calling his death “an act of heroism on January 6th.” It has nothing to do with it,” calling it “the most disturbing accusation since last night.” ”
“The department claims that if Officer Siknik had not fought bravely for hours on the day he was violently assaulted, as any person of common sense would, he would not have died the next day. are doing.
Barry Louder Milk Tour
Carlson provided a selective retelling of the tour. Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.) gave a group of members the day before the riot.
A Fox News host rehashed details already known about the episode, with Loudermilk giving voters a tour of only the House office buildings and hallways, but not the actual Capitol. did not.
The details came out in junewhen the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attacks released footage of the tour.
Carlson said the group was a member and “nobody calls them ‘riotists'”, but two men from Loudermilk’s party showed up on the Capitol grounds on January 6. didn’t mention about it.
“There is no escape for Pelosi, Schumer and Nadler. We are coming for you. We are coming to Pelosi, Nadler, Schumer and even your AOC like white rice. , said one of the men Loudermilk toured outside the Capitol.
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) said on Wednesday that Democrats owe Loudermilk an apology after the Carlson footage aired.
“They were implying things about him that weren’t true that those tapes revealed,” Scalise said.
Rep. Benny Thompson (D-Miss.), who was chairing the committee, declined to apologize to Loudermilk on Wednesday.
“All he had to do was come before the committee and testify, and we could have cleaned it up,” Thompson said, adding that Loudermilk He also denied that the selection committee had insinuated that he supported the rebels by conducting the tour.
Loudermilk, who was asked to volunteer before a panel on January 6th to discuss the tour, is now original research Until January 6th.
“There needs to be a serious and detailed investigation into what happened that day that the J6 committee did not. Where was the security failure and what needs to be done to fix it?” Loudermilk, chairman of the House Administrative Subcommittee on Oversight, said:
Focus on “QAnon Shaman”
Carlson was one of the most famous trespassers, focusing on “QAnon Shaman” Jacob Chansley in furs and a Viking hat during a riot. He is currently serving a 41-month prison sentence.
New security footage shows Chansley following a police officer walking behind him, passing a group of several officers without stopping.
Carlson said that the officer acted as Chansley’s “tour guide” and that Chansley’s understanding that the officer was “on his side” meant that his sentence was inconsistent with his crimes and public perception. It could mean and change his case.
a plea bargain Signed by Chansley.
Carlson said it was not clear how Chansley got into the Capitol, but the petition states that about a minute after Chansley was breached, he entered the building through a broken door and entered the Capitol. admitted to being one of the original 30 intruders of the Security footage already released shows his entrance.
“If he was really committing a serious crime, why didn’t the officer standing right next to him arrest him?” Carlson said.
In an internal message to officers on Tuesday, the manager called the characterization of the “tour guide” “outrageous and deceptive.”
“There’s no need to remember how high the police numbers were on January 6. They used de-escalation tactics and tried their best to talk to the mob and force each other out of the building.” said Manger.
It’s not clear if Chansley will benefit from the videos, but his former attorney told Carlson this week that he didn’t have access to those particular clips.
The footage has already been featured in the ongoing trial of Proud Boy’s Dominic Pezola, and Chansley’s video shows the Senate could have continued the proceedings after the violation. said.
“This footage is clearly innocent, as it demonstrates that the Senate floor was never violently breached and, in fact, was treated respectfully by the January 6 protesters. It was under the supervision of the Capitol Police until it entered the chamber, and the senator on January 6 could have proceeded,” Pezora’s attorney wrote.
The Justice Department dismissed the idea that the defendants didn’t have access to enough evidence, telling CNN they had more material than the Library of Congress printed.
“We have taken a number of steps to help our defense teams identify the most relevant information for our clients within this library so they can decide how to proceed. To date, approximately 600 defendants have pleaded guilty or have been convicted after having access to evidence related to the events,” the DCUS attorney’s office said. outlet.
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