Fox News host Tucker Carlson aired newly released footage on his show Monday from the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol attack, that included images of the rioter known as the “QAnon Shaman,” as well as of Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, who died following the attack.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy granted Carlson access to more than 40,000 hours of the Capitol security footage from Jan. 6. CNN and other news organizations have also requested access to the security footage. McCarthy’s office said it is still working out the process to make the footage “more widely available” but did not comment further.
Capitol Police have continuously warned that release of all security footage from the Capitol could pose a potential security risk for the building. CNN has reached out to Capitol Police for comment.
Carlson, who used the footage in an attempt to downplay the violence and defend the pro-Trump mob, claimed he had Capitol Police review the footage before airing it.
Stephanie Keith/Reuters/File
Supporters of then-President Donald Trump gather at the west entrance of the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.
“We do take security seriously, so before airing any of this video we checked first with the Capitol Police,” Carlson said. “We’re happy to say their reservations were minor and for the most part they were reasonable. In the end, the only change that we made was in blurring the details of a single interior door in the Capitol building.”
Multiple sources on Capitol Hill, however, told CNN that Carlson’s show provided only one clip to review and not the others.
Here’s what was in the footage that aired Monday:
QAnon Shaman’s role
Carlson claimed that new Capitol security footage taken on Jan. 6 shows Jacob Chansley, known as the “QAnon Shaman,” walking through the Capitol without pushback from police.
In one clip, Chansley is shown with two officers who attempt to open a door near the Senate chamber. In a second clip, Chansley, still flanked by the two original officers, walks between a group of about half a dozen officers and none appear to try to step in.
There is no audio in the videos, and it is not clear whether the officers and Chansley are talking to each other.
In court documents, however, prosecutors say that Capitol Police officers repeatedly tried to engage with Chansley and others in the crowd, asking them to leave.
Prosecutors say that Chansley disobeyed that request and walked to the Senate floor. Video from that day shows officers following Chansley around the building, and an officer walks into the chamber with Chansley and continues to ask rioters to leave.
Additionally, Capitol Police officers have testified at several Jan. 6 trials that after the initial wave of rioters entered the building, they felt outnumbered and were afraid of escalating violence by engaging with the mob. Members of the crowd were therefore able to walk into the building without much, or any, physical resistance, according to the officers.
Chansley pleaded guilty to a felony charge of obstructing the Electoral College proceedings on Jan. 6 and was sentenced to 41 months in prison.
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2 years after Jan. 6, House speaker battle divides Congress again
House Select Committee via AP
From the "Big Lie" of Trump's November 2020 election night claims of a stolen election to the bloody Jan. 6, 2021, siege, the report spells out the start and finish of the mob attack that played out for the world to see.
It details how Trump and his allies engaged in a "multi-part" scheme to overturn Joe Biden's presidential election victory — first through court challenges, then, when those failed, by compiling slates of electors to challenge Joe Biden's victory.
As Congress prepared to convene Jan. 6 to certify the election, Trump summoned a mob to Washington for his "Stop the Steal" rally at the White House.
"When Donald Trump pointed them toward the Capitol and told them to 'fight like hell,' that's exactly what they did," Thompson wrote. "Donald Trump lit that fire. But in the weeks beforehand, the kindling he ultimately ignited was amassed in plain sight."
House Select Committee via AP
From the "Big Lie" of Trump's November 2020 election night claims of a stolen election to the bloody Jan. 6, 2021, siege, the report spells out the start and finish of the mob attack that played out for the world to see.
It details how Trump and his allies engaged in a "multi-part" scheme to overturn Joe Biden's presidential election victory — first through court challenges, then, when those failed, by compiling slates of electors to challenge Joe Biden's victory.
As Congress prepared to convene Jan. 6 to certify the election, Trump summoned a mob to Washington for his "Stop the Steal" rally at the White House.
"When Donald Trump pointed them toward the Capitol and told them to 'fight like hell,' that's exactly what they did," Thompson wrote. "Donald Trump lit that fire. But in the weeks beforehand, the kindling he ultimately ignited was amassed in plain sight."
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2 years after Jan. 6, House speaker battle divides Congress again
AP file
After blockbuster public hearings, the report and its accompanying materials are providing more detailed accounts of key aspects of the Trump team's plan to overturn the election, join the mob at the Capitol and, once the committee began investigating, pressure those who would testify against him.
Among dozens of new witness transcripts was Thursday's release of a previously unseen account from former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson (pictured) detailing a stunning campaign by Trump's allies encouraging her to stay "loyal" as she testified before the panel.
The report said the committee estimates that in the two months between the November election and the Jan. 6 attack, "Trump or his inner circle engaged in at least 200 apparent acts of public or private outreach, pressure, or condemnation, targeting either State legislators or State or local election administrators, to overturn State election results."
AP file
After blockbuster public hearings, the report and its accompanying materials are providing more detailed accounts of key aspects of the Trump team's plan to overturn the election, join the mob at the Capitol and, once the committee began investigating, pressure those who would testify against him.
Among dozens of new witness transcripts was Thursday's release of a previously unseen account from former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson (pictured) detailing a stunning campaign by Trump's allies encouraging her to stay "loyal" as she testified before the panel.
The report said the committee estimates that in the two months between the November election and the Jan. 6 attack, "Trump or his inner circle engaged in at least 200 apparent acts of public or private outreach, pressure, or condemnation, targeting either State legislators or State or local election administrators, to overturn State election results."
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2 years after Jan. 6, House speaker battle divides Congress again
House Select Committee via AP
The report also details Trump's inaction as his loyalists were violently storming the building.
One Secret Service employee testified to the committee that Trump's determination to go to the Capitol put agents on high alert.
"(We) all knew ... that this was going to move to something else if he physically walked to the Capitol," a unidentified employee said. "I don't know if you want to use the word 'insurrection,' 'coup,' whatever. We all knew that this would move from a normal democratic ... public event into something else."
Once the president arrived back at the White House after delivering a speech to his supporters, he asked an employee if they had seen his remarks on television.
"Sir, they cut it off because they're rioting down at the Capitol," the staffer said, according to the report.
Trump asked what that meant, and was given the same answer. "Oh really?" Trump then asked. "All right, let's go see."
House Select Committee via AP
The report also details Trump's inaction as his loyalists were violently storming the building.
One Secret Service employee testified to the committee that Trump's determination to go to the Capitol put agents on high alert.
"(We) all knew ... that this was going to move to something else if he physically walked to the Capitol," a unidentified employee said. "I don't know if you want to use the word 'insurrection,' 'coup,' whatever. We all knew that this would move from a normal democratic ... public event into something else."
Once the president arrived back at the White House after delivering a speech to his supporters, he asked an employee if they had seen his remarks on television.
"Sir, they cut it off because they're rioting down at the Capitol," the staffer said, according to the report.
Trump asked what that meant, and was given the same answer. "Oh really?" Trump then asked. "All right, let's go see."
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2 years after Jan. 6, House speaker battle divides Congress again
AP
The report makes 11 recommendations for Congress and others to safeguard American democracy and its tradition of the peaceful transfer of presidential power from one leader to the next.
The first, an overhaul of the Electoral Count Act, is on its way to becoming law in the year-end spending bill heading toward final passage this week in Congress.
The committee also made recommendations to the Justice Department to prosecute Trump and others for conspiracy to commit fraud on the public, and other potential charges. It also referred the former president for prosecution for "assisting and providing aid and comfort to an insurrection."
Other changes may be within reach or prove more elusive. Among them, the report recommends beefing up security around key congressional events, overhauling oversight of the Capitol Police and enhancing federal penalties for certain types of threats against election workers.
One recommendation is for Congress to create a formal mechanism to consider barring individuals from public office if they engage in insurrection or rebellion under the Fourteenth Amendment. It holds that those who have taken an oath to support the Constitution can be disqualified from holding future federal or state office if they back an insurrection.
AP
The report makes 11 recommendations for Congress and others to safeguard American democracy and its tradition of the peaceful transfer of presidential power from one leader to the next.
The first, an overhaul of the Electoral Count Act, is on its way to becoming law in the year-end spending bill heading toward final passage this week in Congress.
The committee also made recommendations to the Justice Department to prosecute Trump and others for conspiracy to commit fraud on the public, and other potential charges. It also referred the former president for prosecution for "assisting and providing aid and comfort to an insurrection."
Other changes may be within reach or prove more elusive. Among them, the report recommends beefing up security around key congressional events, overhauling oversight of the Capitol Police and enhancing federal penalties for certain types of threats against election workers.
One recommendation is for Congress to create a formal mechanism to consider barring individuals from public office if they engage in insurrection or rebellion under the Fourteenth Amendment. It holds that those who have taken an oath to support the Constitution can be disqualified from holding future federal or state office if they back an insurrection.
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2 years after Jan. 6, House speaker battle divides Congress again
AP file
The Jan. 6 committee was created after Congress rebuked an effort to form an independent 9/11-style commission to investigate the Capitol attack. Republicans blocked the idea.
Instead, Speaker Nancy Pelosi led the House to form the committee. In her foreword to the report, she said it "must be a clarion call to all Americans: to vigilantly guard our Democracy."
Led by Thompson and Vice Chair Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., the panel's work is intended to stand as a record for history of what happened during the most serious attack on the Capitol since the War of 1812.
Five people died in the riot and its aftermath, including Ashli Babbitt, a Trump supporter shot and killed by police, and Brian Sicknick, a police officer who died the day after battling the mob.
Cheney noted the committee decided most of its witnesses needed to be Republicans — the president's own team and allies. In the report's foreword, she wrote that history will remember the "bravery of a handful of Americans" and those who withstood Trump's "corrupt pressure."
For all of them, the committee and report held personal weight.
Thompson, a Black leader in Congress, noted that the iconic U.S. Capitol, built with enslaved labor, "itself is a fixture in our country's history, of both good and bad ... a symbol of our journey toward a more perfect union."
AP file
The Jan. 6 committee was created after Congress rebuked an effort to form an independent 9/11-style commission to investigate the Capitol attack. Republicans blocked the idea.
Instead, Speaker Nancy Pelosi led the House to form the committee. In her foreword to the report, she said it "must be a clarion call to all Americans: to vigilantly guard our Democracy."
Led by Thompson and Vice Chair Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., the panel's work is intended to stand as a record for history of what happened during the most serious attack on the Capitol since the War of 1812.
Five people died in the riot and its aftermath, including Ashli Babbitt, a Trump supporter shot and killed by police, and Brian Sicknick, a police officer who died the day after battling the mob.
Cheney noted the committee decided most of its witnesses needed to be Republicans — the president's own team and allies. In the report's foreword, she wrote that history will remember the "bravery of a handful of Americans" and those who withstood Trump's "corrupt pressure."
For all of them, the committee and report held personal weight.
Thompson, a Black leader in Congress, noted that the iconic U.S. Capitol, built with enslaved labor, "itself is a fixture in our country's history, of both good and bad ... a symbol of our journey toward a more perfect union."
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2 years after Jan. 6, House speaker battle divides Congress again
Matt Rourke, Associated Press
House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., right, members of Congress and family of fallen officers pause for a moment of silence Friday in Washington on the second anniversary of the violent insurrection at the Capitol.
Matt Rourke, Associated Press
House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., right, members of Congress and family of fallen officers pause for a moment of silence Friday in Washington on the second anniversary of the violent insurrection at the Capitol.
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2 years after Jan. 6, House speaker battle divides Congress again
Matt Rourke, Associated Press
Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., speaks during a ceremony marking the second anniversary Friday of the violent insurrection by supporters of then-President Donald Trump in Washington.
Matt Rourke, Associated Press
Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., speaks during a ceremony marking the second anniversary Friday of the violent insurrection by supporters of then-President Donald Trump in Washington.
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2 years after Jan. 6, House speaker battle divides Congress again
Matt Rourke
Serena Liebengood, center right, widow of U.S. Capitol Police officer Howard Liebengood, embraces Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., on the second year anniversary of the violent insurrection by supporters of then-President Donald Trump, in Washington, Friday, Jan. 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Matt Rourke
Serena Liebengood, center right, widow of U.S. Capitol Police officer Howard Liebengood, embraces Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., on the second year anniversary of the violent insurrection by supporters of then-President Donald Trump, in Washington, Friday, Jan. 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
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Sorry, not sorry: Jan. 6 rioters change tune after apology
Jose Luis Magana
Incoming House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., accompanied by from left, Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., incoming House Minority Whip Rep. Katherine Clark, D-Mass., Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., along with members of Congress and family of fallen officers, pauses for a moment of silence during a ceremony marking the second year anniversary of the violent insurrection by supporters of then-President Donald Trump, in Washington, Friday, Jan. 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
Jose Luis Magana
Incoming House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., accompanied by from left, Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., incoming House Minority Whip Rep. Katherine Clark, D-Mass., Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., along with members of Congress and family of fallen officers, pauses for a moment of silence during a ceremony marking the second year anniversary of the violent insurrection by supporters of then-President Donald Trump, in Washington, Friday, Jan. 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
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Sorry, not sorry: Jan. 6 rioters change tune after apology
Matt Rourke
Shannon Terranova, the ex-wife of U.S. Capitol Police officer William "Billy" Evans, embraces her daughter Abigail Evans during a ceremony marking the second year anniversary of the violent insurrection by supporters of then-President Donald Trump, in Washington, Friday, Jan. 6, 2023. William "Billy" Evans was killed in an attack near the Senate side of the Capitol building, where he was manning a barricade in April 2021. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Matt Rourke
Shannon Terranova, the ex-wife of U.S. Capitol Police officer William "Billy" Evans, embraces her daughter Abigail Evans during a ceremony marking the second year anniversary of the violent insurrection by supporters of then-President Donald Trump, in Washington, Friday, Jan. 6, 2023. William "Billy" Evans was killed in an attack near the Senate side of the Capitol building, where he was manning a barricade in April 2021. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
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Sorry, not sorry: Jan. 6 rioters change tune after apology
Matt Rourke
Logan Evans, the son of U.S. Capitol Police officer William "Billy" Evans, meets with Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., after a ceremony marking the second year anniversary of the violent insurrection by supporters of then-President Donald Trump, in Washington, Friday, Jan. 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Matt Rourke
Logan Evans, the son of U.S. Capitol Police officer William "Billy" Evans, meets with Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., after a ceremony marking the second year anniversary of the violent insurrection by supporters of then-President Donald Trump, in Washington, Friday, Jan. 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
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2 years after Jan. 6, House speaker battle divides Congress again
Matt Rourke, Associated Press
The Rev. Dr. Cassandra Gould, left, gathers with other Christian leaders for a prayer vigil Friday on Capitol Hill in Washington to mark the second anniversary of the Capitol riot.
Matt Rourke, Associated Press
The Rev. Dr. Cassandra Gould, left, gathers with other Christian leaders for a prayer vigil Friday on Capitol Hill in Washington to mark the second anniversary of the Capitol riot.
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2 years after Jan. 6, House speaker battle divides Congress again
Jose Luis Magana, Associated Press
Supporters of former President Donald Trump protest Friday outside the Supreme Court on the second anniversary of the Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol.
Jose Luis Magana, Associated Press
Supporters of former President Donald Trump protest Friday outside the Supreme Court on the second anniversary of the Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol.
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Sorry, not sorry: Jan. 6 rioters change tune after apology
Patrick Semansky
President Joe Biden speaks in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Friday, Jan. 6, 2023, during a ceremony to mark the second anniversary of the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol and to award Presidential Citizens Medals to state and local officials, election workers and police officers for their "exemplary deeds of service for their country or their fellow citizens" in upholding the results of the 2020 election and fighting back the Capitol mob. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
Patrick Semansky
President Joe Biden speaks in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Friday, Jan. 6, 2023, during a ceremony to mark the second anniversary of the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol and to award Presidential Citizens Medals to state and local officials, election workers and police officers for their "exemplary deeds of service for their country or their fellow citizens" in upholding the results of the 2020 election and fighting back the Capitol mob. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
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Sorry, not sorry: Jan. 6 rioters change tune after apology
Patrick Semansky, Associated Press
Gladys Sicknick and Charles Sicknick, mother and father of the late U.S. Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, look at the Presidential Citizens Medal that President Joe Biden posthumously awarded to their son during a ceremony to mark the second anniversary of the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol on Friday at the White House in Washington.
Patrick Semansky, Associated Press
Gladys Sicknick and Charles Sicknick, mother and father of the late U.S. Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, look at the Presidential Citizens Medal that President Joe Biden posthumously awarded to their son during a ceremony to mark the second anniversary of the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol on Friday at the White House in Washington.
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Sorry, not sorry: Jan. 6 rioters change tune after apology
Patrick Semansky
President Joe Biden awards the Presidential Citizens Medal, the nation's second-highest civilian honor, to former Washington Metropolitan Police Department officer Michael Fanone during a ceremony to mark the second anniversary of the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Friday, Jan. 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
Patrick Semansky
President Joe Biden awards the Presidential Citizens Medal, the nation's second-highest civilian honor, to former Washington Metropolitan Police Department officer Michael Fanone during a ceremony to mark the second anniversary of the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Friday, Jan. 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
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Sorry, not sorry: Jan. 6 rioters change tune after apology
Patrick Semansky
Former Arizona state House Speaker Rusty Bowers, left, speaks with U.S. Capitol Police Sgt. Harry Dunn in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Friday, Jan. 6, 2023, during a ceremony to mark the second anniversary of the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol and to award Presidential Citizens Medals to state and local officials, election workers and police officers for their "exemplary deeds of service for their country or their fellow citizens" in upholding the results of the 2020 election and fighting back the Capitol mob. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
Patrick Semansky
Former Arizona state House Speaker Rusty Bowers, left, speaks with U.S. Capitol Police Sgt. Harry Dunn in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Friday, Jan. 6, 2023, during a ceremony to mark the second anniversary of the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol and to award Presidential Citizens Medals to state and local officials, election workers and police officers for their "exemplary deeds of service for their country or their fellow citizens" in upholding the results of the 2020 election and fighting back the Capitol mob. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
Sicknick’s death
Carlson aired never-before-seen surveillance footage that he said showed Sicknick, who died one day after the Jan. 6 insurrection. Carlson said he focused on this because Democrats have turned Sicknick into a “prop” and a “martyr” by overstating the links between his death and the insurrection.
Carlson used the new video to try to undermine the known facts surrounding Sicknick’s death, and to argue that Jan. 6 was less violent and “deadly” than it has been portrayed.
The video shows Sicknick in the crypt of the Capitol, appearing to give instructions to some of the nearby rioters who are milling around the area, repeatedly waving his arms. Carlson argued that Sicknick looks “healthy and vigorous” in the video, and therefore “it’s hard to imagine” that he was severely injured by the rioters or that he died because of the insurrection.
On Jan. 6, Sicknick was attacked with pepper spray and physically fought with members of the mob. An officer testified that she saw Sicknick in significant distress after he was sprayed. He died one day later after suffering a series of strokes. The DC medical examiner ruled that he died of natural causes but said, “all that transpired (on January 6) played a role in his condition.”
According to Carlson, the new tape of Sicknick was recorded after he was attacked on the frontlines of the Capitol steps, earlier in the day. CNN does not have access to the footage and cannot verify Carlson’s claims, and it’s unclear how Fox News determined that it’s Sicknick in the video.
The new Sicknick footage does not disprove the medical examiner’s conclusion that Jan. 6 influenced Sicknick’s death, and it doesn’t erase the fact that Trump supporters assaulted Sicknick that day.
Two rioters pleaded guilty to crimes related to the pepper spray attack against Sicknick, though neither were accused of killing him. Julian Khater, who deployed the spray, is currently serving a six-year prison term. His friend George Tanios spent five months in jail and has been released.
Sicknick’s mother, Gladys Sicknick, previously blamed Trump supporters for his death. In a statement Monday, after Carlson’s show, the Sicknick family blasted Fox News and argued that the footage shows how he was able to valiantly “resume his duties” after being attacked by the mob.
“Every time the pain of that day seems to have ebbed a bit, organizations like Fox rip our wounds wide open again, and we are frankly sick of it,” the Sicknick family said in the statement.
Here’s the status of DOJ prosecutions
According to statistics released by the Justice Department earlier Monday, more than 999 people are facing federal or local charges related to the January 6 attack, 326 of whom have been charged with assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers or employees.
According to the department, 140 officers were assaulted at the Capitol that day, including 60 Metropolitan Police officers and 80 Capitol police officers.
And 518 of those charged have pleaded guilty to various charges related to that day, including 60 defendants who have pleaded guilty to federal charges of assaulting officers.
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