On Tuesday, Fox News host Tucker Carlson caused tension on Capitol hill after he used clips of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot on his prime-time program that promote an alternate view of the occurrence where it was “mostly peaceful chaos.”
The show led to division among Republicans, with many GOP senators criticizing this portrayal of the Capitol attack.
Capitol Police Chief J. Thomas Manger, on Monday also opened up for the first time about the incident despite usually staying quiet. In a memo that he wrote to lawmakers, he started by explaining how the show had used “cherry-picked” clips of some of the calmest moments in footage which is over 40,000 hours. Manger added that the clips and commentary do not actually capture the chaos and violence that had ensued on that day.
He added that those who wanted to actually help with the country’s legislative process needed to be informed on what occurred on that day.
The segment is the first part of two installments that are meant to air this week containing security footage. Carlson got exclusive access to the Capitol footage by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.). He is now also set to air more clips on Tuesday.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) criticized Carlson and Fox for their portrayal of Jan. 6 and said that he endorses and supports “the opinion of the chief of the Capitol police about what happened on Jan. 6.” He added that Fox News had made a “mistake” in this portrayal of the incident.
