Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger is condemning a Fox News segment in which host Tucker Carlson said the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, was "mostly peaceful chaos."
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., gave Carlson and Fox News exclusive access to more than 40,000 hours of Capitol security footage.
In the Monday night segment, Carlson aired select clips of the never-before-seen surveillance footage of the Capitol on Jan. 6 and downplayed the riot that injured 140 police officers during an hours-long assault.
“The program conveniently cherry-picked from the calmer moments of our 41,000 hours of video,” Manger said in a letter to his department obtained by NBC News. “The commentary fails to provide context about the chaos and violence that happened before or during these less tense moments.”
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Manger also addressed a specific claim by Carlson that Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick’s death had nothing to do with the attack, calling it “the most disturbing accusation from last night.”
“The Department maintains, as anyone with common sense would, 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,” Manger said in the letter.
The police chief said his department stands by the officers shown in the video clips aired on Carlson's program.
“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,” Manger wrote, “TV commentary will not record the truth for our history books. The justice system will. The truth and justice are on our side.”
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer also condemned Carlson's comments Tuesday, saying, "Last night millions of Americans tuned into one of the most shameful hours we have ever seen on cable television."
Later in the day, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said: "With regard to the presentation on Fox News last night, I want to associate myself entirely with the opinion of the Chief of the Capitol police about what happened on January 6."
