According to Tucker Carlson, newly unreleased video from the Capitol attack demonstrated that January 6 was marked by “largely calm pandemonium” and that the rioters acted like “sightseers.” However, a leading Republican and the Capitol’s top cop both sharply refuted this allegation on Tuesday.
According to Deadline, Capitol Police Chief Thomas Manger criticized the Fox host’s program as “offensive and inaccurate” in a letter to the Capitol force. Carlson’s show, according to Manager “conveniently selected from our 41,000 hours of video’s more serene periods. The commentary does not give background information on the mayhem and violence that occurred before to or during these less tense moments.”
In his letter, Manger also addressed the “disturbing notion” that Officer Brian Sicknick’s death wasn’t related to the riot because video showing him strolling through the Capitol looking “healthy” after being attacked by the rioters refuted that claim. Officer Sicknick would not have passed away the following day if he had not put up a courageous fight for hours on the day of his horrific assault, the Department says, as anyone with common sense would.
The mother and two brothers of Sicknick also criticized Carlson, claiming his version of events consisted of “picking and choosing footage that supports his deluded notions that the Jan. 6th Insurrection was peaceful,” according to NBC.
Moreover, Manger disputed Carlson’s assertion that Capitol police served as “tour guides” for “meek” rioters. I don’t need to remind you of how few policemen we had on January 6, the chief wrote, according to CBS. The officers tried their best to utilize de-escalation techniques to persuade the rioters to leave the building by talking to one another.
Some Republican senators also criticized Carlson’s portrayal of the assault when he was given access to the video by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. Mitch McConnell, the leader of the Senate’s minority party, stated that he “completely agrees” with the Capitol Police chief’s assessment of what transpired on January 6.
