Explaining the Missing Context of Tucker Carlson’s Jan. 6 Presentation
Quick Take
On Jan. 6, 2021, about 140 police officers were assaulted during the Capitol riot, and 326 participants — more than 100 armed with weapons — have been charged. But Fox News commentator Tucker Carlson has used recently released video from that day to misleadingly minimize the violence at the riot and to distort the actions of the police.
Full Story
On the evening of Jan. 6, 2021 — after a mob had overrun the U.S. Capitol, fueled by the misguided belief that the 2020 election had been “stolen” — Fox News host Tucker Carlson texted a colleague who was concerned about the lies that fed the violence.
“Our job is not to provide news coverage. Not even close. Our job is to explain what things mean,” Carlson wrote.
The text exchange was revealed in a recent filing for a $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit brought against Fox News by Dominion Voting Systems, a voting machine company that was a frequent target of election misinformation amplified by Fox following the election.
Carlson’s view of his role is particularly relevant now because he is — more than two years later — using his show to sow doubt about the integrity of the election and minimize the significance of the Capitol riot.
Carlson got exclusive access to the surveillance video at the Capitol from Jan. 6 after Rep. Kevin McCarthy became speaker of the House earlier this year. Now, Carlson’s interpretation of that footage is pinging across social media as conservative commentators and influencers rehash highlights from his show.
In reality, a total of about 140 police officers were assaulted as they defended the Capitol during the riot, which resulted in $2.9 million in damages and costs to the Capitol Police, according to the Department of Justice.
Roughly 1,000 participants in the riot have been arrested so far, according to the most recent update from the Department of Justice. About 326 of them have been charged with assaulting, resisting or impeding officers or employees. Of those, 106 have been charged with using a deadly or dangerous weapon or causing serious bodily injury to an officer.
“I was among the vastly outnumbered group of law enforcement officers protecting the Capitol and the people inside several months after the attack. “I was grabbed, beaten, tased — all while being called a traitor to my country. I was at risk of being stripped of and killed with my own firearm, as I heard chants of, ‘kill him with his own gun.'”
