Trump Calls for Jan. 6 Panel to be Tried for Treason, Carlson Vows to Show More Capitol Breach Clips

Former US President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social that members of the now defunct Democratic-led January 6 House Committee "should be tried for fraud and treason," after US journalist Tucker Carlson released excerpts of surveillance footage from the Capitol protests of 2021.

"Great job by Tucker Carlson tonight," Trump wrote on Truth Social following the bombshell video release. "The Unselect Committee of political hacks and thugs has been totally discredited. They knowingly refused to show the videos that mattered. They should be tried for fraud and treason, and those imprisoned and being persecuted should be exonerated and released, now!"

Earlier this week, Fox News' Carlson aired surveillance footage related to the January 6, 2021 Capitol breach, including clips showing Jacob Chansley, commonly known as the “QAnon Shaman”, apparently being "escorted" through the congressional premises by police officers. The protests erupted over suspected 2020 election irregularities as the joint session of the US Congress was preparing to certify Electoral College votes.

Another clip shown by Carlson showed police officer Brian Sicknick, who died one day after the January 6 riots. It appeared to be contrary to the narrative that the policeman was "slain" by protesters. Sicknick looked "healthy and vigorous" after his encounter with the crowd.

"It's hard to imagine he was killed by a head injury," Carlson noted, stressing that the law enforcement officer wore a helmet on that day. "Whatever happened to Brian Sicknick was very obviously not the result of violence he suffered at the entrance to the Capitol."

In the wake of Sicknick's death, the US mainstream press disseminated the narrative that he had died because of a head injury even though the District of Columbia chief medical examiner later concluded that Sicknick had a stroke and defined his death as natural.

The 41,000-Hour Trove

Tucker's bombshell was met with a storm of criticism from the western mainstream press and Democratic lawmakers, who claimed that the journalist deliberately picked video evidence to "falsely" portray the riots as largely "peaceful."

US Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger called Carlson's report "outrageous," with GOP Senator Minority Leader Mitch McConnell joining Manger in denouncing the US pundit. For his part, Trump repeatedly thanked the US journalist and Speaker McCarthy for unveiling the footage.

Last month, the US press reported that Carlson's TV producers had been on Capitol Hill to examine the 41,000-hour trove, which includes multiple camera angles from all over the Capitol grounds. The footage was reportedly provided to the group by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who, according to the US media, promised to do that to his MAGA (Make America Great Again) opposition in order to win the speaker's gavel.

In response, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries denounced the move as an "egregious security breach," while Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer accused Kevin McCarthy of "needlessly exposing the Capitol complex to one of the worst security risks since 9/11."

MAGA Republicans have long called to release the full surveillance video of the protests, accusing their Democratic peers of trying to smear conservative Americans and Trump supporters as "domestic terrorists" and "insurrectionists."

In the wake of the protests, House Dems formed the Select Committee on the January 6 Attack in July 2021 to investigate the Capitol breach. The panel had only two Republicans on board, both of whom were well-known for their criticism of ex-President Donald Trump and the MAGA movement.

At that time, President Joe Biden called the January 6 DC protests the "worst attack on [American] democracy since the Civil War", while conservative observers suggested the incident had been deliberately exaggerated by the Democrats.

Carlson has so far only shown a small part of the January 6 surveillance footage and made it clear that he will present much more soon.