by - A Proud Boy wants to dismiss his subversive conspiracy case based on Tucker Carlson’s Jan. 6 video.
- The DOJ responded on Sunday that all footage had already been provided during discovery.
- Elon Musk previously suggested that there was a miscarriage of justice with the jailing of “QAnon Shaman”.
Elon Musk called for the release of Jacob Chanceley — better known as the “QAnon Shaman” — after Tucker Carlson released surveillance video of the Jan. 6 riot and suggested there was a miscarriage of justice in the Capitol rioter’s jailing. The Department of Justice begs to differ.
In a 10-page court filing filed Sunday, the Justice Department said none of Carlson’s footage — with the exception of the 10-second video that “constituted an evacuation route” — was withheld during discovery in Chansley’s case. The department added that the video shown on Carlson’s show last week was out of context and contained only four minutes of footage showing Chansley.
The court filing was in response to a motion by lawyers representing Proud Boys member Dominic Pezzola, who is charged with rioting conspiracy.
Pezzola’s lawyers argued that Carlson’s “shocking” video was “clearly exculpatory; as it proves the Senate chamber was never forcibly breached” and accused federal prosecutors of withholding the footage.
Chansley’s former attorney, Albert Watkins, also said he had not seen the video aired on Carlson’s show, the Washington Post reported.
The Justice Department, in its filing, responded that the video “was not shocking and is not withheld from Pezzola (or Chansley, in any material respect, for that matter).”
The department said the television footage only showed Chansley’s movements from 2:56 p.m. to 3 p.m. for more than thirty minutes in front of the doors of the Senate chamber while elected officials, including the Vice President of the United States, left the chamber,” the filing said.
“Chansley then entered the Senate Gallery, where he screamed obscenities while other rioters ran through the offices of US Senators,” the DOJ wrote.
In a statement to Insider, Watkins said “the allegation was false.”
“In the weeks leading up to the appeal, repeated requests were made to make sure we had all the video footage,” Watkins wrote in an email. “In response, (Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimberly Paschall) produced a series of videos, some of which were created shortly before the plea, demanding a personal visit with Jake where she was limited to showing him the footage before finalizing his decision to enter into the plea agreement.”
Watkins said the video would have debunked the administration’s “oft-repeated claim that Jake was a danger; he was leading the charge on Capitol Hill, inciting others, threatening others and obstructing an official process.”
He added that the court was “not aware of this video” and wanted to note that Chansley was diagnosed with “a significant mental health issue fifteen years before the day of the riot.
“Remember, at the time of his appeal, Jake had been in solitary confinement for approximately 11 months … and was enduring the mental health difficulties associated with his diagnosis which left him fighting for his life and mental health wellbeing,” Watkins said.
The Justice Department filing said all of the footage was discovered on Pezzola and Chansley by Sept. 24, 2021, about three weeks after Chansley pleaded guilty but more than a month before he was sentenced to 41 months in prison in November.
Pezzola’s attorneys did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Several outlets, including the Associated Press and Politifact, have noted that Carlson left out critical context during his segment, however, that hasn’t deterred Republican pundits and leaders from claiming that the video somehow exonerates them. rioters.
“Jacob Chancely deserves a retrial,” tweeted Marjorie Taylor Green. “All he did was walk non-violently through the capital wearing a uniform while being escorted by the Capital Police.”
Musk also chimed in and said that while he’s “not part of MAGA,” he “believes in justice” and tweeted “Free Jacob Chanceley.”
—Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 11, 2023
Musk did not return a request for comment.
Some Republicans condemned Carlson’s portrayal of the Jan. 6 attack.
After Capitol Police Chief Thomas Munger said in a letter that Carlson was spreading “offensive and misleading inferences,” Sen. Mitch McConnell told reporters Tuesday that he wanted to “fully agree with the Capitol Police Chief’s opinion on what happened on January 6”.
A Fox News spokesman did not immediately return a request for comment.
