(UnitedVoice.com) – Fox News host Tucker Carlson spent months demanding the federal government release all of the January 6 riot footage. His position was that the American people had a right to view it. In mid-February, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) agreed and gave the number one cable news host 41,000 hours of footage from that fateful day.
Carlson has now started to release his own edited version of the day’s events. What he had to say about what happened that day has angered people on both sides of the aisle. A Democratic lawmaker even wants him kicked off the air.
Video Release
On Monday, March 6, Carlson released footage from the events of that day. During his program, he described the rioters as “peaceful,” Newsweek reported. He said the people who pushed past the police barriers and entered Congress that day were “sightseers,” not the insurrectionists the Left paints them to be. Carlson admitted some people who broke into the building were there to cause trouble. He called them “hooligans” and said, “they committed vandalism.”
Carlson also discussed the death of Capitol Police Office Brian Sicknick, who died the day after the riot. The host played a clip allegedly showing an officer he claimed was Sicknick. He said the man looked “healthy and vigorous.” He claimed that was proof the media lied about the circumstances surrounding the officer’s death.
Senator Demands Fox Stop Airing Footage
On Tuesday, March 7, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) gave a speech on the Senate floor attacking Carlson, a member of the media. The Democrat called the Fox News host a liar. The senator said Carlson cherry-picked the footage he showed to paint a picture he wanted.
In remarks to the press, Schumer said Rupert Murdoch, the owner of Fox News, had an obligation to stop Carlson from going on air.
Schumer: "Rupert Murdoch has a special obligation to stop Tucker Carlson from going on tonight [and] from letting him go on again and again and again [because] our democracy depends on it." pic.twitter.com/uld6eaCl3C
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) March 7, 2023
Schumer wasn’t alone in his condemnation. His Republican counterpart, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), also spoke out against Carlson after Capitol Police Chief Thomas Manger contradicted what the Fox News host said on air. The Kentucky lawmaker said he stands by the top law enforcement agent and called the decision to air the footage a mistake.
.@LeaderMcConnell: "It was a mistake in my view for Fox News to depict this in a way that's completely at variance with what our chief law enforcement official here at the Capitol thinks." pic.twitter.com/JdUBaE6dvL
— CSPAN (@cspan) March 7, 2023
The Independent reported Carlson responded to the criticism on his show Wednesday night. He called his critics “sociopaths” and said Attorney General Merrick Garland lied about how many law enforcement officers died as a result of the riots.
McCarthy has said other news agencies will have the footage eventually.
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