Fox News
- Fox News' most watched host now refers to the January 6 insurrection with air quotes.
- In his latest segment whitewashing the riot, Carlson said the FBI was behind it.
- Carlson's entire baseless claim hinged on assuming the unindicted co-conspirators are feds.
- See more stories on Insider's business page.
In his most severe rewriting of history on the January 6 insurrection at the US Capitol, Fox News opinion host Tucker Carlson baselessly claimed the riot was organized by the FBI.
"They were almost certainly working for the FBI, so FBI operatives were organizing the attack at the Capitol on January 6, according to government documents," Carlson said without showing said documents.
Carlson, the most watched host on Fox News, was referring to the latest indictments handed out in the FBI's investigation of the siege.
His claim relies solely on assuming that anyone listed anonymously as an "unindicted co-conspirator" must have been an FBI agent. Carlson went even further to claim the agents plotted the attack, implying it may not have happened without them.
-The Columbia Bugle 🇺🇸 (@ColumbiaBugle) June 16, 2021
Carlson also referred to a fringe conservative media post from Revolver News that contains a list of questions for FBI Director Christopher Wray, purportedly deducing a conclusion on an FBI setup when there is no evidence to support one.
"It turns out that this 'white supremacist insurrection' was - again, by the government's own admission in these documents - organized by government agents," Carlson said, raising the tone of his voice to convey that he was not serious in describing January 6 as a white supremacist insurrection.
He played a clip from Wray's testimony on Capitol Hill where he said the FBI is focused on getting "better sources, better information, better analysis" from white supremacist groups to prevent another insurrection from happening.
Although Carlson kept referring to "government documents," he did not show any on screen.
Fox News did not respond to Insider's request for comment on whether any of the network's journalists have been able to verify Carlson's claim.
Rather than showing the indictments or background information on undercover sourcing in federal investigations, Carlson relied on the Revolver post and citing his usual "they," a cabal of government and media elites looking to deceive his viewers.
"That's a line, and the FBI has crossed it," Carlson said before accusing Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of playing a "victim" because the plot to kidnap her was "a farce" and "insulting" because it involved FBI informants and under cover agents.
"So if you're wondering why they are always comparing January 6th to 9/11, there's your answer," Carlson said. "They're using the same tactics."
Carlson then called for the officer who shot unarmed rioter Ashli Babbitt to be arrested.
His guest was Darren Beattie, the author of the Revolver News post who described it as "the most important and the darkest investigative piece they've seen in years," based on what people have told him, and that the late Babbitt deserves answers.
Beattie did not present any evidence to support his claims on air.
"After seeing all of this, you have to ask yourself, does the national security apparatus do anything but conspire against the American people?" Beattie said. "I'm led to conclude that we cannot have a democracy - everything in our politics will be fake and performative until we bring the national security sate, including the FBI, to heel."
In court, Fox's lawyers have argued that no "reasonable viewer" would ever take what Carlson says seriously.