Capitol Police Chief Thomas Manger sent an internal memo to the law enforcement agency tasked with protecting the Capitol building and members of Congress in response to Fox News host Tucker Carlson airing previously unseen footage from the January 6 riot on Monday.
Matt wrote up what Carlson aired and can be read here.
In the memo, Manger said Carlson's recent episode was "filled with offensive and misleading conclusions" about the riot.
"One false allegation is that our officers helped the rioters and acted as 'tour guides.' This is outrageous and false. This Department stands by the officers in the video that were shown last night...Those officers did their best to use de-escalation tactics to try to talk rioters into getting each other to leave the building," Manger wrote.
Manger accuses Carlson of using "cherry-picked" moments of when there were times of calm inside the building. He went on to say the worst aspect of Monday's episode was Carlson stating the rioters' action had nothing to do with the death of Officer Brian Sicknick.
"TV commentary will not record the truth for our history books. The justice system will. The truth and justice are on our side," Manger concluded.
NEW - Capitol Police chief Thomas Manger sends internal memo this am saying Carlson’s report was “filled with offensive and misleading conclusions” about Jan. 6 and says the “opinion program” never reached out with appropriate context. Reporting w/ @rachelvscott pic.twitter.com/BrnD0n4IN1
— Katherine Faulders (@KFaulders) March 7, 2023
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said it "was a mistake, in my view, for Fox News to depict this in a way that is completely at variance with what our Chief law enforcement official here at the Capitol thinks."
McConnell: “So, that’s my reaction to it. It was a mistake, in my view, for Fox News to depict this in a way that is completely at variance with what our Chief law enforcement official here at the Capitol thinks.”
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) March 7, 2023