Tucker Carlson’s January 6 Revisionist History

The riots in and around the Capitol Building on January 6, 2021, might be the most extensively photographed act of mass violence in the nation’s history. And yet, there’s still more footage of the day’s events that the public had not yet seen — closed-circuit security camera footage from inside the Capitol, in fact, which House speaker Kevin McCarthy provided to Fox News Channel host Tucker Carlson. On Monday night, Carlson played that footage for his viewers and claimed that it invalidates the notion that the attack on the Capitol Building was an attack at all.

The previously unseen footage, Carlson said, “from inside the Capitol overturns the story you’ve heard about January 6.” It “does not show an insurrection or a riot in progress,” he added. Rather, the footage is of revelers who “revere the Capitol.” The trespassers were “peaceful,” “ordinary,” and “meek.” If you have internalized some other perception of the day’s events, that’s only because you’re so easily manipulated. “By controlling the images that you were allowed to view from January 6, they controlled how the public understood that day,” Carlson declared. “They could lie about that day, and you would never know the difference.”

The riots in and around the Capitol Building on January 6, 2021, might be the most extensively photographed act of mass violence in the nation’s history. And yet, there’s still more footage of the day’s events that the public had not yet seen — closed-circuit security camera footage from inside the Capitol, in fact, which House speaker Kevin McCarthy provided to Fox News Channel host Tucker Carlson. On Monday night, Carlson played that footage for his viewers and claimed that it invalidates the notion that the attack on the Capitol Building was an attack at all.

The previously unseen footage, Carlson said, “from inside the Capitol overturns the story you’ve heard about January 6.” It “does not show an insurrection or a riot in progress,” he added. Rather, the footage is of revelers who “revere the Capitol.” The trespassers were “peaceful,” “ordinary,” and “meek.” If you have internalized some other perception of the day’s events, that’s only because you’re so easily manipulated. “By controlling the images that you were allowed to view from January 6, they controlled how the public understood that day,” Carlson declared. “They could lie about that day, and you would never know the difference.”

About the Author

Noah Rothman

Noah Rothman is a senior writer at National Review. His third book, Blood and Progress: A Century of Left-Wing Violence, was published by Hachette in May 2026.