AP Photo/Susan Walsh
Elon Musk, the billionaire owner of Twitter, embraced Tucker Carlson’s revisionist account of the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol in a series of tweets.
Carlson, who was given access to a massive trove of Jan. 6 security footage by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), began airing his commentary on that footage Monday night. He used the tapes to present a bizarre view of the riot as a non-violent protest.
“The overwhelming majority weren’t [violent],” he said. “They were peaceful.”
He continued: “They’re not destroying Capitol. They obviously revere the Capitol. They’re there because they believe the election was stolen from them. They believe in the system.”
The false claim of a stolen election is what fueled the crowd of Trump supporters, who were armed with guns, pipes and other weapons, to storm the Capitol in an attack that left five people dead and resulted in the suicide of four Capitol Police officers in the months that followed. 150 officers in total were wounded in the attack.
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The airing on the tapes was celebrated by the pro-Trump right. Former President Donald Trump himself put aside his feud with Fox News to fawn over Carlson and call for the immediate release of all those arrested in the riot.
Musk also celebrated Carlson airing the footage. In one tweet, he responded to Mike Cernovich, who launched his political career as a Pizzagate conspiracy theorist, by calling the revelations “Shocking.”
Musk also responded “Wow” to footage from Carlson showing that police officer Brian Sicknick was seen walking around the Capitol building despite media reporting that he had died during the attack.
Sicknick died the next day. Carlson’s claim his death was completely unrelated to the attack was rejected by Sicknick’s family on Monday night. They condemned the Fox News host for using Sicknick’s death to further pro-Trump propaganda in a scathing statement.
“On video, Officer Sicknick looks like he managed to shake off the chemical irritants and resume his duties,” the family said. “That he did, but his sense of duty and incredible work ethic were the driving force which sent him back in spite of his injuries and no doubt contributed to his succumbing to his injuries the following day.”
“What will it take to silence the lies from people like Carlson?” the family
The Carlson episode has also prompted accusations that the bipartisan group that led the Jan. 6 committee lied to the American people. Musk responded to that on Twitter, accusing them of sending people to prison “for far more serious crimes than they committed.”
It’s unclear what Musk is referring to there. The Jan. 6 committee was led by members of Congress, not prosecutors. They didn’t send anyone to prison because they can’t.