Tucker Carlson unveiled new footage from the January 6 riots which he claims casts a new light on the 2021 unrest at the US Capitol.
In footage screened on his show Monday night, so-called QAnon Shaman Jacob Chansley was apparently seen being escorted into the Senate by Capitol police officers.
Carlson suggested that challenged the prevailing narrative that Chansley – jailed for four years over the incident – aggressively barged into the chamber.
Also broadcast was footage of Captiol cop Brian Sicknick, who died shortly after the riot.
It was originally suggested Sicknick’s death came as the result of being attacked with a fire extinguisher by rioters.
But a medical examiner later ruled he’d died of natural causes. And Carlson shared footage of Sicknick walking around the Capitol after the attack.
He appeared in good health, which the Fox News host said poured cold water on liberal outlets’ insistence that the Capitol rioters had Sicknick’s blood on their hands.
Tucker Carlson on Monday night released footage from inside the Capitol on January 6, including clips showing the ‘QAnon Shaman’, Jacob Chansley (above), being apparently ‘escorted’ through the building
Chansley is seen being followed through the Capitol by a police officer
Chansley, with his bullhorn, is seen on January 6, 2021 inside the Capitol
He also referenced Ray Epps, who was seen among the rioters urging them to storm the Capitol, yet was never charged – giving rise to suspicion that Epps was in fact an informant. Epps has denied working for the government.
On Monday, Carlson suggested Epps was lying.
‘They were orderly and meek,’ said Carlson of those who stormed the Capitol. ‘These were not insurrectionists; they were sightseers.’
Carlson said they ‘obviously revere the Capitol’, noting they took selfies and ‘queue up in neat little lines’.
‘Deadly insurrection. Everything about that phrase is a lie,’ he said.
‘Very little about January 6 was organized or violent.
‘Surveillance video from inside the Capitol shows mostly peaceful chaos.’
Carlson pointed to footage showing the ‘QAnon Shaman’ – a bare-chested, Viking helmet-wearing Jacob Chansley – inside the Capitol.
Chansley, a 33-year-old naval veteran from Arizona, was one of the most high-profile figures to enter the Capitol on January 6.
He has been jailed for almost four years for ‘obstructing an official proceeding.’
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In the footage, Chansley appears to be guided by an official as he wanders the Capitol.
He passes a line of riot police, who make no move to stop him.
Then they escort him to various entrances of the chamber which appear to be locked, and eventually find him an open door through which he vanishes.
‘Virtually every moment of his time inside the Capitol was caught on tape,’ said Carlson.
‘The tapes show the Capitol police never stopped Jacob Chansley. They helped him. They acted as his tour guides.’
Carlson also showed the moments after Officer Brian Sicknick was confronted by the rioters.
Sicknick, 42, died on January 7 – the day after the riot.
Brian Sicknick is seen shortly after the Capitol was breached. Carlson said he appeared ‘healthy and vigorous’
Sicknick, who died of a stroke on January 7, is seen during the riot carrying out his duties
Trump supporters are seen walking through the Capitol on January 6, 2021. Carlson described them as ‘sightseers’
In April 2021, the DC medical examiner ruled that Sicknick, who was injured while confronting rioters, suffered a stroke and died from natural causes.
‘To this day, media accounts describe Sicknick as someone who was, quote, ‘slain’ on January 6,’ Carlson said.
‘The video we reviewed proves that is a lie.’
Carlson said the officer was ‘healthy and vigorous,’ and noted he was wearing a helmet.
‘So it’s hard to imagine he was killed by a head injury,’ he said.
‘Whatever happened to Brian Sicknick was very obviously not the result of violence he suffered at the entrance to the Capitol.
‘This tape overturns the single most powerful and politically useful lie the Democrats have told us about January 6.’
There have been multiple deaths linked to the riot, including four Trump supporters – one of whom, Ashli Babbitt, was shot dead by Capitol Police.
Four officers died by suicide in the days and weeks after the riot.
There have also been roughly 1,000 arrests.
