Carlson Shows January 6th Footage

(StraightNews.org) — Tucker Carlson has shown part of the footage of the January 6th riots on Capitol Hill that he received from Speaker Kevin McCarthy. The Fox News anchor said what he saw did not amount to insurrection. “Very little about Jan. 6 was organized or violent. Surveillance video from inside the Capitol shows mostly peaceful chaos,” he said. More than 1,000 people were arrested in the wake of the day when protestors stormed the Capitol building. Democratic lawmakers blamed the incident on Donald Trump, who had spoken to the crowds immediately before the riots began.

Carlson was provided with the footage by Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in February. There are almost 42,000 hours of film and the Speaker said it would be released to the wider public in due course. He was sharply criticized for the move but dismissed this, stating that it is not unusual for a television network to obtain an exclusive scoop. Some Democrats said McCarthy was guilty of a dereliction of duty for giving the film to Carlson. The Fox host has also been heavily criticized for allegedly downplaying the seriousness of the demonstrations.

The footage shows rioters clashing with law enforcement officers who used mace to subdue them. Broken windows and vandalism can also be seen. In one highly controversial scene, Jacob Chansley, known as the “QAnon Shaman”, a protestor who wore a fur cloak and hat with Viking horns, was apparently guided through the Capitol building by police officers. Chansley, who has been jailed for 4 years, said he did not believe he was doing anything illegal because he was being escorted by police. Capitol police say they were merely trying to de-escalate the situation but Tucker Carlson has hinted that federal agents incited the violence, or allowed it to happen, in order to blame it on Donald Trump.

Trump was impeached, for the second time, weeks later, but the Senate found him not guilty of inciting insurrection.

Copyright 2023, StraightNews.org