Officer Brian Sicknick's Family Condemns Fox News Anchor's Remarks
Head of Capitol Police Denounces Tucker Carlson's Portrayal of Jan. 6 Attack
The head of the U.S. Capitol Police, Thomas Manger, criticized Fox News host Tucker Carlson for his portrayal of the January 6th attack on the Capitol as "filled with offensive and misleading conclusions." In a letter to the department obtained by CBS News, Manger denounced Carlson for selectively airing footage that failed to provide accurate context about the attack.
Thomas Manger's Denunciation of Tucker Carlson
Manger lambasted Carlson for falsely claiming that Capitol Police officers helped the mob of former President Donald Trump's supporters and acted as "tour guides," calling the accusation "outrageous and false." He then said, "I don't have to remind you how outnumbered our officers were on January 6. Those officers did their best to use de-escalation tactics to try to talk rioters into getting each other to leave the building."
The Capitol Police chief also accused Carlson of “conveniently” cherry-picking moments of calm to show from over 41,000 hours of police and surveillance footage, which House Speaker Kevin McCarthy allowed the Fox News host to access. Manger noted that this selectively aired footage failed to provide context about the chaos and violence that happened before or during those less tense moments.
Death of Officer Brian Sicknick
Manger's criticism of Carlson's characterization of Jan. 6 extended to his remarks about the death of U.S. Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick. Manger called Carlson's comments about the circumstances of Sicknick's death "the most disturbing" and declared that "had Officer Sicknick not fought valiantly for hours on the day he was violently assaulted, Officer Sicknick would not have died the next day."
On his show Monday, Carlson had claimed that Jan. 6 was "mostly peaceful" and the majority of rioters who unlawfully entered the Capitol were "sightseers" who were "orderly and meek." He showed surveillance footage of an officer, purported to be Sicknick, walking through the Capitol looking "healthy and vigorous." Sicknick's death, Carlson claimed, "was not the result of violence he suffered" at the Capitol.
In response to Carlson's remarks, the Sicknick family released a statement condemning the Fox anchor and Fox News. The statement said that the footage aired on the show "supports his delusional views" that the events of Jan. 6 were peaceful.
Manger's Praise for Capitol Police
Manger concluded his open letter with a salute to the officers who fought on Jan. 6. He said, "You fought like hell on January 6 and risked your lives to protect the Constitution and everything this country stands for. You, along with our law enforcement partners, saved every Member of Congress and their staff. TV commentary will not record the truth for our history books. The justice system will. The truth and justice are on our side."
The Justice Department has now charged more than 1,000 people in connection with the Jan. 6 assault, and the majority have already pleaded guilty to federal charges. Roughly 326 people have been charged with assaulting, resisting or impeding law enforcement officers.
Carlson's primetime show on Fox attracts more than 3 million viewers, and he was granted exclusive access to a trove of 41,000 hours of Capitol and police surveillance footage from Jan. 6 as part of an agreement with McCarthy. However, CBS News and other media organizations have demanded their own access to the tranche of videos from the attack.
