Tucker Carlson's Jan. 6 Video Tapes Release—Four Biggest Revelations

Fox News' Tucker Carlson aired newly released footage of the January 6 attack which included clips of the "Qanon Shaman" Jacob Chansley and Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick, who died one day after the riot.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy granted Carlson access to more than 40,000 hours of security camera footage from the Capitol riot, which the Fox News host played sections of on Monday night to suggest that a majority of the people who stormed the building that day were "not insurrectionists, they were sightseers."

Carlson said the footage will show that Democrats, as well as former GOP lawmakers Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, who sat on the January 6 House Select Committee, "lied" about the events of the Capitol riot. Carlson has frequently been accused of playing down the violence of January 6 while pushing conspiracy theories about the attack on his primetime show.

In a statement to The Hill on Monday, Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, the former chairman of the House Select Committee investigating the January 6 attack, criticized McCarthy for allowing the Fox host "who spews lies and propaganda" access to the security footage to play selected clips.

The family of officer Sicknick, who was injured while physically engaging with protesters, according to police, also accused Carlson in a statement of having chosen to air clips which support his "delusional" views that the insurrection was "peaceful."

On March 6, the Department of Justice said that around 1,000 people had been arrested in connection with the January 6 attack, including more than 100 who were charged with using a deadly or dangerous weapon or causing serious bodily injury to an officer.

Speaking on his Fox News show, Carlson said that the 2020 election, which former President Donald Trump falsely claimed was rigged because of widespread voter fraud, was a "grave betrayal of American democracy."

Carlson also claims the footage will shed new light on what occurred during the January 6 attack, which Trump is accused of inciting to prevent the certification of President Joe Biden's election victory.

"The January 6 Committee had access to this very same tape and watched much of it. But as we're about to show you, committee members lied about what they saw and then hid the evidence from the public, as well as from January 6 criminal defendants and their lawyers. That is unforgivable," Carlson said.

QAnon Shaman

Carlson plays several clips of Chansley, the most recognizable figure from the January 6 attack, showing him freely walking around the corridors of the Capitol building with police failing to apprehend him.

In one clip, Chansley is shown walking alongside two officers, one of whom attempts to open a door for him near the Senate chamber. Another clip shows at least nine officers allowing Chansley to walk past them without making any attempt to stop him.

Carlson suggested that Capitol Police officers not only didn't detain Chansley on January 6, but "acted as his tour guides."

Carlson also claimed that there is "dispute" about how Chansley entered the building despite footage existing of him being part of the crowd that broke through barricades and pushed through police officers during the riot. Chansley was also among the first wave of rioters to breach the Capitol building on January 6.

Chansley was sentenced to 41 months after pleading guilty to one count of obstruction of an official proceeding.

Brian Sicknick

During his Monday night show, Carlson played footage of Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick performing his duties on January 6 to dismiss the idea that his death was the fault of Trump supporters.

Carlson showed clips of Sicknick looking "healthy and vigorous" after he was attacked by Trump supporters and dismissed the suggestion that his death was linked to the injuries he received that day.

Sicknick died one day after protecting the Capitol during the riot on January 6, 2021. It was ruled that Sicknick died of natural causes after suffering multiple strokes hours after the riot took place. A medical examiner ruled that the events of January 6 "played a role" in his condition.

"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," Carlson said.

In a statement, Sicknick's family attacked Carlson for airing "lies" about the January 6 attack and said the officer was able to "shake off" his injuries and resume his duties that day.

"Every time the pain of that day seems to have ebbed a bit, organizations like Fox rip our wounds wide open again, and we are frankly sick of it," the statement added,

Julian Khater was jailed for 80 months in connection with the assault of Sicknick on January 6, when the officer was sprayed with mace. A second defendant, George Tanios, who provided the chemical spray to Khater, pleaded guilty to two counts of disorderly conduct in a restricted building.

Josh Hawley

In July 2022, the January 6 House panel played footage of Missouri Senator Josh Hawley fleeing from the mob after they had breached the Capitol, prompting laughter from those watching the hearing at the Cannon House Office Building in Washington, D.C.

On Monday, Carlson claimed the footage was "propaganda" against the Republican while noting Hawley was one of several lawmakers being ushered out of the building by police.

"In fact, Hawley was at the back of the pack. The 'coward' tape was a lie—one of many from the Jan. 6 Committee," Carlson said.

Ray Epps

Carlson also discussed Ray Epps, an Arizona man at the center of a right-wing conspiracy theory, also promoted by Carlson, falsely accusing him of working for the FBI to encourage Trump supporters to storm the Capitol.

Carlson played footage showing Epps outside the Capitol around 30 minutes after he told the January 6 House Select committee that he had left the area. Carlson said that Epps had texted his nephew at 2:12 p.m. that day to say he had "orchestrated the protests" at the Capitol.

"The surveillance footage we found shows that in fact, Ray Epps remained at the Capitol for at least another half an hour," Carlson said.

"What was Epps doing there? We can't say," Carlson added. "But we do know that he lied to investigators. The January 6th Committee likely knew this too. Democrats had access to the same tape, yet they defended Ray Epps."

Epps told the Jan. 6 committee that he wasn't secretly working for the government during the attack and that the campaign against him has torn his life apart, NBC News reported in December.