Right-wing media host Tucker Carlson presented his fans with a narrative formed through a partial presentation of video clips from January 6th, which he claims show that Jacob Chansley, aka the QAanon Shaman, wasn’t violent or dangerous, but The Justice Department disagrees, explaining Chansley’s role more thoroughly and destroying Carlson’s presentation.
The DOJ affirms that, yes, as Carlson showed, there was a short period of time in which an officer was near Chansley and did not confront him or drag him from the building, but explains that the officer was trying to de-escalate and that this clip, and the few short minutes of security film presented on Carlson’s show, aren’t representative of Chansley’s full activities in the Capitol.
There’s also documentation to refute Carlson’s narrative — you’ll see a video clip below of Chansley entering the building when let in not by a kindly police officer, but another member of the window-breaking violent mob.
The DOJ also points out that an officer tried to escort Chansley out of the building and that he refused, leaving only when “additional officers arrived and forcibly escorted him out.”
The new filing is in the Proud Boys seditious conspiracy case, where defendant Dominic Pezzola is arguing that the footage Carlson aired is exculpatory, and requesting his case be dismissed.
However, the DOJ is pointing out that Carlson showed only about 4 minutes of Chansley’s time in the building, which in total was around an hour, and that he neglected to show more incriminating portions of the footage. From Politico:
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“Prior to that time, Chansley had, amongst other acts, breached a police line at 2:09 p.m. with the mob, entered the Capitol less than one minute behind Pezzola during the initial breach of the building, and faced off with members of the U.S. Capitol Police for more than thirty minutes in front of the Senate Chamber doors while elected officials, including the Vice President of the United States, were fleeing from the chamber,” [prosecutors] continued.
JUST IN: Prosecutors offered their fullest repsonse to Tucker Carlson's Chansley footage, noting that the aired portion covers about 4 minutes of his 1 hour inside the Capitol
And it omits the vast evidence that is damaging to Chansley, they say. https://t.co/SaQyIJrqx7 pic.twitter.com/DBZOnNMsoz
— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) March 12, 2023
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Here’s some of what Carson showed, as he claimed that police never tried to stop Chansley.
Tucker: The tapes show the capitol police never stopped Jacob Chansley. They helped him. They acted as his tour guides. pic.twitter.com/gIXOoF1Lpb
— Acyn (@Acyn) March 7, 2023
On the other hand, here’s some of the footage that he didn’t show — a mob breaking windows, and members of that mob then opening the door from inside, and Chansley among those who entered.
Here’s the actual footage of Jacob Chansley entering the Capitol on Jan 6th. He was not “escorted into the building.” Him and his MAGA militia smashed through the windows with wooden spears and then kicked open the doors from the inside. This man PLED GUILTY#ChansleyIsATerrorist pic.twitter.com/tztxod9n7N
— Andrew Wortman (@AmoneyResists) March 11, 2023