Right-wing and fringe media figures used Fox host Tucker Carlson’s revisionist coverage of January 6 Capitol security footage to attack members of the House select committee that investigated the attack, claiming Carlson proved that January 6, 2021, was not really an insurrection and that committee members lied about various aspects of the day, including a Capitol Police officer’s death.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) gave Carlson exclusive access to more than 40,000 hours of security footage from the U.S. Capitol during the January 6 insurrection, arguing that “the American public should actually see all [that] happened instead of a report that's written [on] a political basis.” But as Media Matters’ Matt Gertz noted, McCarthy could have “made it available to the press or the public” or “turned the footage over to a Republican-controlled House committee for review.”

Over the last two years, Carlson has undertaken an extensive crusade to rewrite the narrative about January 6 — downplaying the violent extremism of the insurrectionists, producing a propaganda reel defending them, and baselessly alleging that they were victims of a deep state setup.

After having access to the security footage for weeks, Carlson began airing his supposed findings on March 6, using cherry-picked videos to attempt to convince the American public that what they had obviously seen that day — a violent assault in which many of the thousands of rioters clashed with police as they descended on the U.S. Capitol to stop Congress from certifying then-President Donald Trump’s defeat — had not actually occurred. 

When news broke that McCarthy gave Tucker the exclusive footage, right-wing figures immediately praised the move and pushed conspiracy theories about the attack in anticipation of its likely release. After Carlson reported on and released some of the footage on March 6, some right-wing figures expressed disappointment at Carlson’s coverage, while others, along with Trump, used the coverage to continue pushing debunked conspiracy theories about the insurrection and to attack House select committee members.

Right-wing and fringe figures falsely claimed that Carlson’s January 6 footage proved the House select committee manipulated footage and lied

Right-wing media figures attacked members of the January 6 committee, calling them liars and in some instances calling for them to be arrested. In an effort to reverse criminal charges of insurrectionists, Carlson’s coverage has revived baseless claims about the events that transpired during the attack. Of the insurrectionists currently awaiting trial, many have pleaded guilty and expressed remorse for their actions on January 6.

• Right-wing billionaire and Twitter CEO Elon Musk accused January 6 committee members of misleading the public, baselessly claiming that they “withheld evidence for partisan political reasons that sent people to prison for far more serious crimes than they committed.” Numerous right-wing outlets, including Fox News, the Washington Examiner, and The Gateway Pundit reported on Musk’s comments, saying he “torch[ed]” or “blast[ed]” committee members.
• Newsmax host Benny Johnson shared a Fox News clip to Twitter, adding, “Tucker drops receipts PROVING J6th Committee manipulated footage of January 6th to manufacture smear campaign against Republicans framing them for plotting J6.”
• Conspiracy theorist Jack Posobiec claimed on Twitter that the current narrative about the January 6 insurrection is “on life support” and that “it’s time to pull the plug.”
• Mike Davis, president of the Article III Project, addressed Senate Republicans on Twitter, saying, “Friendly advice: Stop lighting yourselves on fire, by attacking @TuckerCarlson.” Davis said the events that occurred at the Capitol on January 6 were “not an insurrection. It was a riot,” and, “The Democrats have politicized and weaponized January 6th, to hunt down and destroy their political enemies.“
• Election denier and right-wing political commentator Dinesh D’Souza asserted: “The real criminals, we now see, are not the #January6 protesters but the lying prosecutors, corrupt swamp judges and media propaganda outlets that worked together to destroy the lives of many peaceful dissidents—and all to protect a thoroughly deceitful narrative about Trump.”
• Anti-vaccine figure Dr. Sherri Tenpenny praised McCarthy and Carlson, saying, “Well it’s about time Kevin McCarthy did his damn job! Fantastic news & big kudos to Tucker - now let’s see justice for the criminal traitors.”
• QAnon John's group The Patriot Voice wrote that “EVERY single Trump supporter should be FIGHTING MAD right now,” adding, “You have a RIGHT to be ANGRY about the scumbag Democrats in Congress who LIED to your face for 2+ YEARS about the TRUTH of J6,” and claiming that the “FALSE narrative” around the events on January 6 was constructed “to make Trump & his supporters look like ‘violent insurrectionists.’”

Right-wing and fringe figures amplified Carlson’s false claims that the insurrectionists were peacefully given tours of the Capitol

While presenting the footage, Carlson claimed that Capitol Police actually provided tours to and guided insurrectionists — including the so-called QAnon Shaman, who is currently serving a 41-month prison sentence — through the Capitol Building. Right-wing and far-right figures amplified these claims, also insisting that this proves they were set up.

• Newsmax’s Greg Kelly tweeted that “TUCKER CARLSON just DEMOLISHED the Biggest Lies about January 6th, showed the COMPLICITY of @CapitolPolice (famous for killing Ashley Babbitt, leaving doors open, etc),” claiming that the January 6 insurrection was “a TRAP designed to hurt MAGA.”
• Turning Point USA’s Charlie Kirk posted on both Truth Social and Gettr, “So ‘QAnon Shaman’ Jacob Chansley gets 4 years in prison for being politely escorted through the Capitol by multiple police and praying from the House floor, but serial child molester James Tubbs can pretend to be trans and gets only 2 years in juvie (as an adult) from an LA DA.”
• QAnon influencer Jordan Sather speculated that some of the footage was staged, saying, “So the ‘QShaman’ guy got a guided tour of the U.S. Capitol by police? Almost as if they were setting him up for the photo op - for the mainstream media to then run their narratives with. Psy-ops on psy-ops.”
• QAnon figure and conspiracy theorist Jon Herold, known online as Patel Patriot, asked, “The Capitol Police are run by the legislative branch. So why was Capitol Police assisting Q-Shaman on J6? J6 was a false flag to frame Trump supporters as insurrectionists. This video implicates Pelosi. The real insurrection was on November 3rd, 2020.”
• On Gettr, radio host Todd Starnes posted his own article, “J6 SHOCK: Video Shows U.S. Cap Police Escorting QAnon Shaman Peacefully,” where he claimed that committee members gave the public “a taxpayer-funded 2.0 collusion hoax.”
• Real America’s Voice, the New York Post, The Federalist, Gateway Pundit, and the Washington Examiner all published articles about the same video clip of “QAnon Shaman” Jacob Chansley and claiming he was being escorted by Capitol Police, speculating that the police were acting as Chansley’s “tour guides.”

Right-wing outlets and fringe figures accused January 6 committee members and mainstream media of lying about Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick’s death

Carlson claimed to have discovered footage showing Officer Brian Sicknick walking around the Capitol after the mob attacked him. Carlson said that committee members and mainstream media “knew he was not murdered by the mob, but they claimed it anyway.” 

Sicknick died of natural causes after suffering two strokes in the hours following the insurrection, and Washington's chief medical examiner said that what happened to him on January 6 played a role in his death. Following Carlson’s March 6 episode, Sicknick’s family released a public statement saying, “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. Leave us the hell alone." 

Right-wing outlets and users of fringe platforms have nevertheless amplified Carlson’s claims:

• Conspiracy theorist Jack Posobiec shared a Fox News clip to Truth Social, adding, “BREAKING: Tucker Carlson has obtained footage of Brian Sicknick walking around the Capitol healthy after the time the media claimed he had been killed by Trump supporters” 
• QAnon influencer ULTRA Pepe Lives Matter 🐸 said, “Chuck Schumer continues to pretend like Brian Sicknick died as a result of January 6th when it's been proven that he died several days later due to an unrelated cause. That's the problem with the deep state: They are counting on the people's ignorance so that they can spew their lies without pushback. An awakened and educated populace is what they fear the most. And the people are awakening.”
• On Truth Social, Vigilant News, a show of the QAnon influencer collective We The Media, said, “More footage from Jan 6th shows Brian Sicknick walking through the Capitol halls, appearing to be quite alive and well AFTER the supposed fire extinguisher attack, disproving the left’s narrative that he died from violence that day. Tucker also found proof via an electronic bookmark that this footage was viewed by the 1/6 committee, but disregarded. This is massive.”
• RedState’s Jim Thompson accused committee members of pushing “the myth that Sicknick had been killed defending the Capitol,” saying he was “exploited and lied about in death.”
• Right-wing clickbait outlet The Post Millennial published an article claiming that “Tucker Carlson has revealed never before seen footage that proves Officer Brian Sicknick was alive, healthy, and walking around on duty in the Capitol on Jan 6 after Democrats claimed he had been killed.”
• The New York Post published an article in which columnist Miranda Devine claimed that Carlson discovered footage which “shows Sicknick walking through the building ‘after he was supposedly murdered by the mob outside.’” 
• The Federalist published an article in which correspondent Tristan Justice claims that footage revealed by Carlson “shows Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick walking around the complex after Democrats and the media claimed he was brutally murdered.” 
• Gateway Pundit’s Joe Hoft published an article that claims to show video footage of Sicknick walking Capitol grounds after he had been reported to have been murdered. In the article, Hoft writes, “These animals who hated President Trump lied to the American people about a man’s death for political purposes.” 

Right-wing figures claim that government officials, Big Tech, and the media are attempting to censor or intimidate Carlson after his airing of January 6 footage

• Former Trump lawyer and current radio host Jenna Ellis tweeted, “Congress should censure @SenSchumer for attempting to intimidate @TuckerCarlson and interfere with freedom of the press.”
• Newsmax host Benny Johnson tweeted of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer: “A Senator is trying to stop a journalist from exercising his first amendment right because ‘Democracy.’”
• Right-wing personality Terrence K. Williams speculated about Schumer’s call for Fox Corp. Chair Rupert Murdoch to prevent any more January 6 footage to be aired. On Twitter, Williams said “Chuck Schumer just told Tucker Carlson he better not show anymore Jan 6th footage. Why are they so afraid ?”
• In response to CNN’s Oliver Darcy, right-wing journalist Tom Elliot tweeted, “Noticing rather than try arguing w/ any of the evidence Tucker presented, CNN et al., are resorting to writing it all off as ‘lies’ and ‘trutherism’ #BoldStrategyCotton.”
• In response to conservative commentary website The Columbia Bugle’s tweet about Schumer’s comments on Carlson’s January 6 footage, State Freedom Caucus Network communications director Greg Price tweeted, “‘How dare Tucker Carlson completely ruin the narrative we've created about January 6 to justify putting our political opponents in jail.’”