Tucker “Goes There”

by Sharon Rondeau

(Mar. 21, 2023) – In preparation to discuss the events of January 6, 2021 at the U.S. Capitol resulting in hundreds of arrests, with perhaps 1,000 more whose arrests are reportedly sought by authorities, Tucker Carlson launched his Tuesday night show by recapping the fact that on the night of November 3, 2020, incumbent president Donald J. Trump appeared to be winning handily over Democrat challenger Joe Biden.

The following morning, Carlson noted, Biden, who barely campaigned, was said to have garnered “15 million more votes than Barack Obama” and overtaken Trump in what Carlson implied was an incredible result, at least to many.

He opined that Trump supporters went to the nation’s capital on January 6 to protest what they believed was an illegitimate election. He then turned his focus to the arrest of the “QAnon Shaman,” Jacob Chansley, who was sentenced to 41 months in prison prior to the release of video footage showing Chansley did not commit violence while inside the Capitol.

The theme of Carlson’s initial segment was “Political Purge.”

Recently Carlson showed never-before-viewed footage provided to his producers and him by Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy after McCarthy reported first having had it screened for national-security concerns by U.S. Capitol Police.

Jacob Chansley did not walk in through a broken window; he went in through an open door,” Carlson said, stating that Chansley’s life “has been destroyed” by an unjust prosecution.

Chansley’s lawyers did not have the opportunity to view the new footage, Carlson said, during their client’s trial.

Carlson characterized the event at the Capitol as a “political” protest rather than “an insurrection” and questioned why no one attempted to demonstrate why the election result was purportedly accurate rather than demonizing and prosecuting protesters.

Update, March 22, 2023: A YouTube video of Carlson’s Tuesday night broadcast is here.