After Fox News show "Tucker Carlson Tonight" aired previously unseen footage of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack at the U.S. Capitol, former President Donald Trump and a slew of Republicans called for investigations into the select committee.
"Great courage shown by Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy in releasing the surveillance footage to Tucker Carlson so that our Country, and indeed the World, can see what really went on during the January 6th events," Trump wrote on Truth Social. "A whole new, and completely opposite, picture has now been indelibly painted. The Unselect Committee LIED, and should be prosecuted for their actions."
The footage aired Monday showed a sliver of more than 40,000 hours of footage provided to Carlson by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif.
"The footage does not show an insurrection or a riot in progress," said Carlson. "The video record does not support the claim that January 6 was an insurrection. In fact, it demolishes that claim. And that's exactly why the Democratic Party and its allies in the media prevented you from seeing it."
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., tweeted: "The J6 Committee LIED to America … They must be held accountable."
Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., tweeted: "The January 6th Committee was a partisan disgrace … We knew it then and now we have proof."
Hundreds of protestors have been convicted of crimes relating to Jan. 6. According to the Justice Department, 326 were charged with assaulting, resisting or impeding law enforcement officers; 106 were charged with using a deadly or dangerous weapon or causing serious bodily injury to an officer.
Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., who was the chairman of the select committee, condemned McCarthy's decision to give the footage to Carlson, referring to Jan. 6 as "one of the darkest days in the history of democracy."
El Salvador President Nayib Bukele tweeted: "The United States Government is putting PROVEN INNOCENTS in jail, and is, at the same time, concerned about us putting PROVEN CRIMINALS in jail."
Carlson challenged the mainstream narrative of Jan. 6, highlighting noteworthy moments like that of the "QAnon Shaman" Jacob Chansley, now serving a 41-month prison term for his involvement, although the footage reveals he was escorted by at least nine officers through the capitol building.
According to Julie Kelly of American Greatness, Chansley spent over 300 days in solitary confinement under court-ordered pretrial detention, where he ultimately pleaded guilty to obstruction of an official proceeding, a nonviolent offense.