Carlson and his producers were given nearly 41,000 hours of footage from January 6 by new Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), after Democrats had suppressed it, releasing only what they wanted to be seen.
Much of the footage, Carlson said, was not relevant, such as surveillance footage of empty rooms far from the events of the day. But the rest overturned Democrats’ claim of an “insurrection” to overthrow the government.
The video “does not support the claim that January 6th was an insurrection. In fact, it demolished that claim,” Carlson said. Carlson contended that while some footage showed violence and vandalism, much of it showed people moving through the Capitol peacefully, even being escorted by members of the Capitol Police, who did not confront them.
While the police may have had no choice, given that then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) had turned down requests for National Guard assistance, Carlson argued that it showed many of those in the Capitol lacked an intention to commit crimes.
In the case of Chansley, whose buffalo-horned costume became the iconic image of the Capitol riot, Carlson showed Capitol Police walking with him through hallways and even helping to open a door for him.
Chansley, who served in the U.S. Navy, ultimately pleaded guilty to the charges he faced and acknowledged that he was told repeatedly to leave the Capitol by police officers. He would later say in a jailhouse interview that he regretted not knowing that he was breaking the law, trusting that because police officers were helping him, his actions were condoned.
Carlson argued that Chansley, who was sentenced to 41 months in prison, and other defendants did not have access to the full footage and potentially exculpatory evidence, which he said had been withheld by Democrats.
There was some dispute about that online. Politico legal affairs reporter Kyle Cheney reported on Twitter that his sources within Capitol Police said Chansley and other defendants had access to the footage in their trials.
However, the public had never seen that footage, as it had been placed under a protective order, meaning that the public impression of Chansley’s behavior and that of other non-violent defendants remained incomplete.
Carlson claimed that Capitol Police had vetted the footage he aired on Monday, and asked for only small changes. CNN reported that some sources said he had only vetted some of the footage with Capitol Police.
Editor’s Note: This story was updated to clarify that Tucker Carlson characterized the Capitol Police as “tour guides” for the Q Shaman, and we removed language suggesting that the Capitol Police unlocked doors for Chansley.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the new biography, Rhoda: ‘Comrade Kadalie, You Are Out of Order’. He is also the author of the recent e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.