Tucker: Why are our leaders obsessing over this?

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Tucker: Why are our leaders obsessing over this?

‘Tucker Carlson Tonight’ host examines the left’s ‘repulsive’ rhetoric covering the events on Jan. 6 one year later.

This is a rush transcript of "Tucker Carlson Tonight" on January 6, 2022. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

TUCKER CARLSON, FOX NEWS CHANNEL HOST: Good evening and welcome to TUCKER CARLSON TONIGHT.

As you may have heard, this is the anniversary of January 6th, and in commemoration of that, we have done the official network approved solemn anchor outfit, white shirt and a tie. Message: Reverence.

But actually, if you take three steps back as historical events go, if we are being honest now, January 6th barely rates as a footnote. Really not a lot happened that day, if you think about it.

The presidential election was not overturned. The Capitol was not destroyed. The government wasn't toppled no matter what you may have heard, not a single elected official was injured, thank God. Police got shoved, unfortunately, punches were thrown. But the only person who wound up dead from violence was an unarmed protester who was shot to death without warning by a cop.

None of the so-called insurrectionists had guns. When was the last time we saw an insurrection like that?

So looking back, you could probably call what happened on January 6 a riot. We have called it that, but really only just a riot, maybe just barely. By recent standards, it was an embarrassingly tepid effort. No one even bothered to set a fire or spray paint slogans on the walls.

So the question is, why are we still talking about this? Why are leaders obsessing over this event? For every single one of the last 365 days, the propaganda machine has been at 11 ginning up noise about January 6 to deafening levels and it's not stopping. In fact, after all this time, amazingly, the yelling is getting louder and wilder and still more disconnected from reality.

Why are they doing this? Well, it's not for voters. Look at the polls. Voters are not very interested in hearing about this anymore. And you can see why, a year after the election, it doesn't make sense. It's not relevant to their lives.

Everyone agrees January 6 was ugly, but was it really a greater threat to America than say inflation? Than opening the Southern border and admitting two million people whose identities we can't confirm? Yes.

They tell us January 6 was scary. Reporters are very afraid. But is it scarier than what is what's going on right now tonight in say upscale shopping malls in Atlanta where people are being shot to death in the parking lot?

It was a crime. Okay. Was it a greater crime in the manufactured drug epidemic that has killed more than 100,000 Americans, mostly young people in the last year? Probably not.

And yet protesters who walked through the Capitol that day are still in jail tonight, a year later. The Sackler family, the group that destroyed rural America with OxyContin got off with a fine. They are still billionaires, and so on, and so on.

So it's a tough sell telling normal people that this is a world historic event. So why are they still saying that? There are reasons actually and for the next hour, we're going to do our best to explain what those reasons are and what actually happened.

But first to today's reaction.

We begin with Kamala Harris. Now, never a master of subtlety, you will not be surprised that in her speech today, she bypassed the subtlety. In fact, Harris compared the events of January 6th to Pearl Harbor, and then to 9/11. Did she really say that you ask? Oh, yes, she did. Here's the clip.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAMALA HARRIS (D), VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Certain dates echo throughout history, including dates that instantly remind all who have lived through them where they were and what they were doing when our democracy came under assault: December 7, 1941, September 11, 2001, and January 6, 2021.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARLSON: Yes, January 6, it's one of those indelible moments, one of those moments you can't forget like the birth of your first child, the Kennedy assassination, the moon landing -- you've got to ask yourself, where were you when CNN claimed for the very first time that our democracy was under assault?

Chances are, you were probably standing at an airport, waiting on the plane and wishing to God, someone would turn the sound down on the TV set bolted to the ceiling, because it's absurd, and so is that clip you just heard. It's ridiculous.

In fact, it's so ridiculous you're not even going to bother to deconstruct it once again or attempt to refute it. It is self-discrediting as if Kamala Harris could be further discredited.

But not to be outdone in the hyperbole Olympics, her boss/subordinate -- pick one -- Joe Biden -- Biden decided to up the historical stakes, assuming that's possible in a separate speech, which we're not going to show tonight because it was awful and weird, Biden told the country that in fact, symbolically January 6 was worse than the Civil War, the American Civil War. That would be the war that killed more than a million people.

January 6 was worse than that somebody held a naughty flag.

It is so far beyond parody at this point, it is hard to know how to assess it. Where did this come from? Well, obviously, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris don't write their own material. Neither one is capable of composing more than a bitchy text message with emojis.

But some human beings sat down and typed those words and then read them on the screen, a speech writer, and you wonder if that speech writer felt shame as he did that. 9/11? Pearl Harbor? The Civil War? Your face will go red, even thinking something like that.

But these people have no shame and that definitely goes to the national media. They were out in force today.

So in case you're still wondering, after all these years, if there is such a thing as a coordinated message campaign where someone gets on a call, and says, here is what we're saying today for political effect. In case that's even a question in your mind, we sat down with a pen today and counted as at least eight separate television anchors, described January 6, as quote, "one of the darkest days in our history." Exact same words.

Now it's not simply that they all love cliches because they are dumb, though, of course that's true. It is they all said it together as they always do and this was on three separate TV networks. Now, there are more than three, but we finally felt sick and gave up watching. But it was MSNBC, as usual, to win all the way for the prize and grotesquerie today.

The Joy Reid network found a guy called Doug Brinkley. He is one of those television historians who has never actually written significant history of anything, just come right out and compare January 6 to Auschwitz.

You knew that was coming. Now, this is repulsive. But as historians, we feel duty bound to show you what actually happened. Watch Doug Brinkley.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DOUGLAS BRINKLEY, HISTORIAN: Liz Cheney has become our true profiles in courage. She reminds us of brave Republicans in the past like Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt, Margaret Chase Smith, John McCain.

But we have film footage of what happened on January 6th. We have proof Dwight Eisenhower during World War II made sure all the Holocaust camps were filmed, so we've got the film footage, January 6 has to be a crusade that's every day as "The New York Times" op-ed said every day is January 6.

So we are in a real neo Civil War, and it's a battle between democracy versus a kind of nativist authoritarianism.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARLSON: We're in a kind of Civil War. But more specifically, we await the ADL's furious statement condemning Doug Brinkley for trivializing genocide, which he just did. We'll let you know when we get that statement.

In the meantime, Doug Brinkley was right about one thing, there are an awful lot of images showing what happened inside the Capitol on January 6th, we don't have to guess for the most part.

I want to show one of them to you tonight, because it's frankly representative. Here is the terrifying scene on the floor of the United States Senate as insurrection has swept in. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

QANON SHAMAN: Hey. [Bleep] man. Glad to see you guys. You guys are [bleep] patriots. Look at this guy, he is got -- covered in blood. God bless you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You good, sir? Do you need medical attention?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm good. Thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I got shot in the face. I got shot in the face with some kind of plastic bullet.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Any chance I could get you guys to leave the Senate wing?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We will. I have been making sure they ain't disrespecting the place.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Okay, I just want to let you guys know, this is like the sacredest place.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARLSON: So, the guy with the flag at the back of the shot, that's the QAnon Shaman, he is doing years in prison for that and only that. But the most interesting line in that entire clip which as you may have seen we got from "The New Yorker," hardly a right-wing source is what the armed police officer says in that exchange to the dangerous QAnon Shaman who is still rotting in prison.

Quote, "Any chance I could get you guys to leave the Senate wing?"

Any chance I could get you guys to leave the Senate wing -- not even leave the building? Just the Senate wing. Can you hear the terror and that officer's voice?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The police are squabbling with protesters. Oh, there we go.

[CHEERING]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And they just breached the Capitol again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARLSON: Okay, so that film was jumped a little ahead of the game there, but what you just saw right there is what you saw if you were watching the coverage live that day.

Okay, if you were watching January 6th unfold in real time, then you were probably like most people, no matter who you voted for, kind of shocked by it. Really people swarming around the Capitol? That's not good.

But then you saw something pretty strange. You saw the police who are in charge of securing the perimeter move aside the barricades and let the protesters or rioters or insurrectionists, whatever you want to call them, a lot of people still in prison -- let them in the building.

So, why did they do that? Now, we know conclusively because an awful lot has been reported on it, much divulged by the U.S. government that law enforcement authorities knew there was going to be a significant protest that day, and so they were prepared. Apparently they had snipers with shoot to kill orders -- on standby.

So why exactly were the protesters allowed in, welcomed in by law enforcement? Now there may be a completely good reason for that. We're not doubting that there is an honest explanation. We just don't know what it is. No one has ever explained that.

Liz Cheney, who has berated the country in the most self-righteous possible way for weeks and months now telling us we need to get the bottom of exactly what happened. Totally uninterested in finding out why that happened, which everyone who was watching TV saw.

And there are other questions that just don't make sense. These are not conspiracy theories, these are sincere questions based on actual footage. We brought this up a couple of times.

There's a man called Ray Epps, who is a longtime conservative activist. He was captured on camera at least three times possibly more encouraging people on January 6 and the day before January 6 eve, January 5, encouraging protesters to storm the Capitol.

Here's one tape.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RAY EPPS, ACTIVIST: Tomorrow, we need to go into the Capitol. Into the Capitol.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What? No.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fed. Fed. Fed. Fed. Fed.

EPPS: Okay folks, spread the word. As soon as the President is done speaking, we go to the Capitol. The Capitol is this direction.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARLSON: So that's Ray Epps. Again, we showed that to you before. Congressman Thomas Massie asked the Attorney General what's that about? Is this guy going to be charged? Where is he? He was on the F.B.I. most wanted list, now, he is not.

The Attorney General refused to answer the question. No one has answered the question. Again, this is not a conspiracy theory. It's a legitimate question, why won't they answer it? And what's the answer?

And then there is this. There are a number of people like this. We're just going to give you one other example. Now, this man has been dubbed by internet sleuths as the Scaffold Commander. Now he was shot from a variety of different angles on videotape on January 6 appearing to give orders to the crowd from an elevated position.

There is really no doubt if you watch the tapes, and they're all available online, if you're interested, you should, but that this guy was coordinating the movement of the crowd toward and in to the United States Capitol.

Now, he is caught directly on camera. There is facial recognition software out there. Probably not too hard to find out who this guy is. If F.B.I. agents can fly to Alaska and hassle old ladies on Social Security because they were present, they can probably find this guy.

And yet as far as we know, this guy who clearly had some kind of management role that day has not been arrested and has not been charged or even publicly identified. What is that about?

Here is some of the video.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Okay, we're in. We're in. Come on.

We've got to fill up the Capitol. Come on. Come now. Come now. We need help. We're going to fill up the Capitol.

Move forward. Climb up over the wall. Get into those bleachers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARLSON: So there he is, Scaffold Commander, commanding the crowd to break the law, exhorting them forward to break the law. There was the largest manhunt in American history conducted after this day, January 6, we're still talking about it as noted a year later.

And yet this guy is not only unidentified, nobody in authority seems interested in the slightest in finding out who he is. Now why is that?

Now, we wouldn't know anything about this, were it not for Revolver News, which we would say has done the best reporting on January 6, but really if we are being honest, has done virtually the only reporting on elements of January 6th. Totally legitimate questions.

Darren Beattie runs Revolver News. We're happy to have him join us tonight. Darren, thanks so much for coming on.

So, I just want to check two facts really quick. So Ray Epps and the man at the top of the tower commanding the crowd to break the law have not been arrested or charged so far as you know, is that correct?

DARREN BEATTIE, REVOLVER NEWS: That's correct, and it's actually even more remarkable than that. So Ray Epps is the only person in the mountains of video evidence caught dead to rights, saying, "We need to go into the Capitol" and following up on his mission the next day.

Not only is he not charged, he is not searched, the January 6th Committee has not issued him a subpoena and the latest information on Epps from the F.B.I. is claiming that they don't know he even exists.

Scaffold Commander, same situation, unindicted, unsearched, seemingly no interest in him and there are a cast of other characters who played a decisive role in the very beginning of January 6th, creating the conditions to turn the event from a rally into a riot, cutting fences, removing barriers, inciting the crowd.

All of these cast of characters covered in the revolver.news piece, mountains of video evidence, they are unindicted and it makes no sense.

CARLSON: Well, you know, it really doesn't make any sense and I always -- because I want to trust everybody, I think most Americans do, I always try and think, well, you know, what's the legitimate explanation for something like this? And I honestly can't think of one and be as fair as you can, can you?

BEATTIE: I really can't. One could say absolutely gross incompetence. The only problem is Ray Epps is served to the F.B.I. in a silver platter. The F.B.I. included him as one of the 20 Most Wanted people. They said, please, help us identify him. The internet identified him like two days later, and the F.B.I. has done nothing.

And so it's really -- I'm at a loss for an innocent explanation for these discrepancies.

CARLSON: Can you imagine why someone like Liz Cheney or I'll just be honest, like virtually every Republican leader in the Congress has just ignored this. Why would they not want to get to the bottom of such an obvious and important question?

BEATTIE: Well, because what the evidence suggests is arguably one of the biggest scandals in American history. Left alone, January 6 is a big nothing burger. But if it turns out that some of the key instigators and the key figures who played a role in turning this from a rally into a riot are actually informants of the government or even agents of the government, this is extremely damning to the elements of the government and it completely destroys the false narrative that they're trying to engineer on the basis of this story, which is that Trump's supporters are effectively domestic terrorists.

CARLSON: Look, I don't want to believe that that's true, but if it's not true, what's the other answer? And I don't think anyone watching should feel embarrassed to ask those questions or allow anyone to bark you into silence by calling you a conspiracy nut.

Okay, so what's the answer that?

Darren Beattie, I appreciate it. I appreciate your reporting on this. It has been really unbelievable. Thank you -- and brave.

BEATTIE: Thank you so much, Tucker.

CARLSON: Our three-part investigation into what actually happened on January 6, it's called "Patriot Purge" took a look at what many on the left are referring to as the De-Ba'athification of America. Here's part of it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CARLSON: It is a purge aimed at legacy Americans.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How are we going to really almost deprogram these people who have signed up for the cult of Trump?

CARLSON: Purge of inconvenient citizens who vote the wrong way.

JOY REID, MSNBC HOST: What someone on my team earlier today called De- Ba'athification.

CARLSON: In the first War on Terror following the American invasion of Iraq, the so-called De-Ba'athification of Iraqi society began.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The hunt is on.

CARLSON: We occupied their Capitol.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tonight in Washington, D.C., a green zone perimeter has been established.

CARLSON: We hunted down supporters of the former Iraqi regime.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The National Guard scouring for explosives and extremists.

CARLSON: We purged their military and their law enforcement agencies and all public supporters of the former regime.

Nothing like this has ever taken place on American soil until now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARLSON: We took a lot of heat for making that. We spent a lot of time making it and put a lot of people on to that story because it's worth it. Throughout history, you see events that were pretty clear when they happen, everyone knew what happened.

And then five years later, they've been completely rewritten to justify some kind of political activity that is essentially illegitimate. We don't want that to happen here.

We saw what happened on January 6. We don't know the answer to every question. But the basics are really obvious. We want to establish them before the liars can change history. We think that's worth it.

Well, Senator Ted Cruz of Texas yesterday called the January 6 rioters quote "violent terrorists," but they weren't violent terrorists, not even close.

Ted Cruz joins us in just a moment to explain.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CARLSON: So at the Capitol today, as we told you, Kamala Harris will literally read anything that arises on the teleprompter in front of her, read a script that compared January 6 to Pearl Harbor and 9/11, and we're quoting, "Dates that occupy not only a place on our calendars, but a place in our collective memory, December 7 1941, September 11, 2001, and January 6, 2020."

So you know, it's easy to mock that. It's obviously ludicrous, but it's also maybe if you fought this country's war, more than ludicrous, maybe it's offensive.

Joe Kent has fought this country's wars for many years as a career soldier. He is now running for Congress in Washington State. We wish him well in that. He joins us now.

Joe Kent, thanks so much for coming on. So, what was your reaction when you heard the Vice President of the United States say this?

JOE KENT (R), CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE FOR WASHINGTON STATE: Well, obviously, Tucker, I was deeply offended because it is absolutely appalling, and just completely ridiculous. But what I want people to realize is exactly what she is doing.

Like you said, I fought these wars before and I've seen this playbook ran before. What Kamala Harris is doing, what Joe Biden is doing is they're taking very powerful imagery, and they're saying that the attack on Pearl Harbor, the attack on 9/11, this is the same thing that took place on January 6 because that allows people to compare Trump supporters to Nazis to actual members of al-Qaeda, and with that imagery comes the justification to turn the tools of the state against them.

CARLSON: I can't believe you're running for Congress. That is such a smart and obvious analysis and I wish I had said it before you said it, but I think that's exactly right. These words are not chosen by accident, correct?

KENT: That's right. These are very deliberate, like I said, we've seen this playbook before. They are echoes to the lead up to the Iraq War that they have some intelligence. There is something they can't tell us, but we have to trust them.

It's very, very dangerous. Therefore, we have to give them the authority to send us into a war, a new war. But that war is here and that war is against the deplorables, Trump supporters, whatever you want to call it, and that war has allowed them to deprive our citizens of their constitutional rights, those that are still sitting in a gulag in Washington, D.C., deprived of their rights, and then even other Americans who dissent from the current regime's narrative.

Just look no further than what they did to the parents who had the audacity to show up to School Board meetings. They had the F.B.I. counterterrorism centers rigged against them.

CARLSON: No wonder Liz Cheney is for this.

KENT: Exactly. Dick Cheney showed up magically again today making a great reappearance, so there is no coincidence there.

CARLSON: It's all so wrong. Joe Kent, thanks so much for coming on tonight. I appreciate it.

KENT: Thanks so much for having me, Tucker.

CARLSON: So we played this tape for you last night. We were surprised by it. We prefaced it by saying every conservative appreciates Ted Cruz because he is one of the smartest and most articulate people in the Congress and he is conservative.

But he referred publicly to what happened on January 6 as quote, "a violent terror attack." Here it is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX): We are approaching a solemn anniversary this week, and it is an anniversary of a violent terrorist attack on the Capitol where we saw the men and women of law enforcement demonstrate incredible courage, incredible bravery, risked their lives to defend the men and women who serve in this Capitol.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARLSON: Senator Cruz was game enough to come on tonight. We appreciate that. He joins us now.

Senator, thanks so much for coming on. So I guess what -- I mean, there are a lot of dumb people in the Congress, you're not one of them. I think you're smarter than I am. And you never use words carelessly, and yet you call this a terror attack when by no definition was it a terror attack? That's a lie.

You told that lie on purpose and I'm wondering why you did.

CRUZ: Well, Tucker, thank you for having me on.

CARLSON: Of course.

CRUZ: When you weren't aired your episode last night, I sent you a text shortly thereafter and said, listen, I'd like to go on because the way I phrased things yesterday, it was sloppy, and it was frankly dumb.

CARLSON: I don't buy that. Whoa, whoa. I don't buy that. Look, I've known you a long time since before you went to the Senate. You're a Supreme Court contender.

You take words as seriously as any man who has ever served in the Senate, and every word -- you repeated that phrase, I do not believe that you used that accidentally. I just don't.

CRUZ: So Tucker, as a result of my sloppy phrasing, it has caused a lot of people that misunderstand what I meant. Let me tell you what I meant to say.

What I was referring to are the limited number of people who engaged in violent attacks against police officers, and I think you and I both agree that if you assault a police officer, you should go to jail. That's who I was talking about.

And the reason the phrasing was sloppy is I have talked dozens, if not hundreds of times, I've drawn a distinction. I wasn't saying that the thousands of peaceful protesters supporting Donald Trump are somehow terrorists. I wasn't saying the millions of patriots across the country supporting President Trump are terrorists, and that's what a lot of people have misunderstood that comment.

I would focus --

CARLSON: Wait a second, but even your way -- but hold on what you just said doesn't make sense. So if somebody assaults a cop, he should be charged and go to jail. I couldn't agree more. We have said that for years.

But that person is still not a terrorist. How many people have been charged with terrorism on January 6th? Like why did you use that word? You're playing in to the other side's characterization that as Joe Kent just explained allows them to define an entire population as foreign combatants and you know that, so why did you do it?

CRUZ: So Tucker, let me answer you directly. The reason I used that word, for a decade, I have referred to people who violently assault police officers as terrorists. I've done so over and over and over again. If you look at all the assaults we've seen across the country, I've called that terrorism over and over again.

That being said, Tucker, I agree with you. It was a mistake to say that yesterday. And the reason is what you just said, which is we've now had a year of Democrats and the media twisting words and trying to say that all of us are terrorists, trying to say you're a terrorist, I'm a terrorist.

And so look, I don't like people who assault cops and I will stand up and defend cops, and the reason I use that word is that's the word I've always used for people that violently attack cops.

But in this context, I get why people were angry because we've had a year of the corrupt corporate media and Democrats claiming anyone who objected to the election fraud and by the way, remember what was happening during those protests --

CARLSON: Wait. Can I just ask -- hold on -- you work in the Senate. I just -- I guess I just don't believe you and I mean that with respect because I have such respect for your acuity and your precision and I've seen it on display.

I've covered you as a reporter. I know how you speak and you have sat there for a year and watched people use language to distort the events of that day, intentionally -- insurrection, coup, terrorism.

CRUZ: And of course, it wasn't an insurrection. Saying it is an insurrection is a political term. It's a lie. I've repeatedly denounced it.

And when it comes -- look, I was focusing on what I normally say that -- what you aired was a little 15-second snippet. What I normally say is violence is wrong, peaceful protest is right.

If you engage in violence, you should be prosecuted. If you're speaking, you have a right to speak. I say that all the time.

CARLSON: Right. Amen, and I agree.

CRUZ: I didn't say it in that snippet.

CARLSON: So who is Ray Epps, by the way? Since you are a senator like there -- he and this other guy are clearly encouraging the crowd to commit crimes. Neither one has been arrested or charged? What is that do you think?

CRUZ: So, I think that is a very good question. I don't know who Ray Epps is. I've seen that video multiple times.

CARLSON: Right.

CRUZ: It is disturbing. He is clearly urging the crowd to violate the law. When you see the crowd start chanting "Fed. Fed. Fed." For him to appear on the F.B.I.'s Most Wanted List and come off, it certainly suggests he was working for the F.B.I. That's not conclusive, but that's the obvious implication.

And the Attorney General and the Department of Justice won't answer the question. Tucker, I can tell you, I've joined with a number of other senators trying to get the Biden D.O.J. to answer the question why so many January 6 prisoners are in solitary confinement? Why are they being treated so much worse than the Antifa rioters and the people who committed firebombing in a year of riots across the country -- and this Biden D.O.J. won't go after them.

But let me also make a quick point, Tucker, remember, while thousands of people were standing up to defend this country on January 6th, at that exact moment, I was standing on the Senate floor objecting to the election results, demanding that we impanel an Election Commission to consider evidence of voter fraud and I brought together 11 senators to join me in supporting getting to the bottom of that.

So of course, it would be ridiculous for me to be saying that the people standing up and protesting to follow the law were somehow terrorists.

I was talking about people who commit violence against cops, and you and I both agree, if you commit violence against cops, you should go to jail.

CARLSON: Yes, but you're not a terrorist. You know, you're not. You're a guy who assault a cop. Okay, so that -- there's a legal difference, as you well know better than I do, since you were actually in the running for the Supreme Court and there is a moral difference between a guy you know -- big time.

CRUZ: Hey, Tucker, the reason to use that word is for a decade, I've used that word for people that violently assault cops. I use that word all in 2020 for the Antifa and BLM terrorists that assaulted cops and firebombed police cars.

But I agree, it was a mistake to use the word yesterday because the Democrats and the corporate media have so politicized it they are trying to paint everyone as a terrorist and it is a lie.

And by the way, I've spoken out vocally against -- the exchange you just had -- they want to paint us as Nazis. Yes.

CARLSON: I know, it's scary.

CRUZ: That is what they're trying to do. And I just -- look, I'm the one leading the fight in the Senate against this garbage and it's what I have been doing and it is what I'll continue doing.

CARLSON: Well, I appreciate your coming on tonight. Thank you very much, Senator Ted Cruz of Texas.

CRUZ: Absolutely.

CARLSON: Thanks.

Well, the Democrats who continue to show their outrage over January 6 are - - you're going to be shocked -- the very same people who defended mass violence by BLM and Antifa throughout the entire summer of 2020. You knew that. We're going to remind you in some detail after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CARLSON: So if you're watching the coverage today and watching what was happening on Capitol Hill, what's the word for it? Circus, zoo -- those aren't even powerful enough to describe the flamboyant absurdity and craziness of what the Democratic Party brought us today.

Nancy Pelosi -- this really had to be the high watermark -- brought in special musical guests to celebrate, commemorate, observe January 6.

Kevin Corke has that story for us tonight. Hey, Kevin.

KEVIN CORKE, FOX NEWS CHANNEL WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good evening, Tucker.

On a day when not nearly enough was said about Ashli Babbitt and arguably too much was said about what actually didn't happen back on the 6th of January last year, it was all the more remarkable and dare I say, hard to imagine, a more cringe-worthy turn of events that took place at the Capitol today when House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for a brief time, during what was expected to be an occasion of solemnity, ceded the floor of Congress to "Hamilton" playwright, Lin-Manuel Miranda.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): We're privileged to have a contribution from one of the great creative talents of our time, Lin-Manuel Miranda, may his beautiful words be an inspiration to us.

LIN-MANUEL MIRANDA, PLAYWRIGHT, "HAMILTON": We should never take our rights and liberties for granted and we must remain committed to finding a way forward together.

That's what I wrote about in the song "Dear Theodosia" from "Hamilton."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORKE: After the performance, Members of Congress were heard clapping as Pelosi said the arts have a way of saying things that connect, and as you can imagine, there were howls aplenty who quite frankly over on Twitter.

Quipped, journalist, Michael Tracey, "Another lesson and why you should always operate on the default assumption that parody and reality have merged." -- Tucker.

CARLSON: The Great Kevin Corke. Thanks a million.

CORKE: You bet.

CARLSON: So if -- you've got to think of this for a second, if you're Nancy Pelosi and you're desperate to convince a skeptical country that January 6 is on par with say 9/11 and the Civil War and Pearl Harbor, convince the country they need to take this with the utmost serious and reverence and send their dimes into Washington to build the January 6 Memorial on The Mall.

If that is your goal, why would you invite the cast of "Hamilton" to sing songs on a Zoom call? It seems kind of counterproductive. And of course, the answer is, because they can't help themselves. That's who they are.

So you may have remembered since we are talking about violence and threats to our democracy the summer of 2020, BLM and Antifa set fire to a lot of American cities. Here is what it looks like.

[VIDEO CLIP PLAYS]

CARLSON: It is hard to believe that happened in this country. If we are being totally honest, it's hard to believe the last administration didn't send Federal troops in immediately. But whatever. We all kind of sat back and watched it.

And then we watched the people in charge, certainly in our business community and among politicians endorse these riots and send money to help the rioters. Kamala Harris was at the very front of that group. She literally praised BLM for its role in violence. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Black Lives Matter has been the most significant agent for change within the criminal justice system because it has been a counter force to the force within the system that is so grounded in status quo and in its own traditions, many of which have been harmful and have been discriminatory in the way that they have been enforced.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARLSON: So that wasn't that long ago, but it is relevant to what we're seeing today because it is about threats to our democracy, violence in pursuit of political ends. So what shall we take from all of this?

Jason Whitlock is the host of "Fearless," one of our favorite guests. He joins us tonight.

Jason, thanks so much for coming on. So, how do you square this circle? Some violence, okay, others forbidden. What does that mean?

JASON WHITLOCK, HOST, "FEARLESS WITH JASON WHITLOCK": Well, I think they're directly connected, as you pointed out. I think that people sat during the summer of George Floyd -- St. George Floyd, throughout 2020 -- and had that violence shoved down our throats and told that this is appropriate and these people have every right to do this, and we watched our lawmakers defend that.

Our Vice President, she wasn't the Vice President then, but a candidate then defended this and was offering money to pay the bill for these lawless people. And so I think the people on January 6th having been fed this diet were frustrated, and like, hey, what's going on with our country, our lawmakers, the people that we've elected to defend America and to keep us safe, and to keep things not in total chaos and anarchy are letting us down.

Let's go to the Capitol and let these guys know that we are frustrated, and that someone needs to be a voice for us, and needs to be a voice of commonsense. And so Tucker, I'm sorry, I have to say this. I'm so pleased with you. That interview you just had with Ted Cruz is so vitally important.

This is what has been missing in terms of making sure that we are a voice for the common man and the common people and hold our politicians accountable.

Ted Cruz needed to be held accountable for the stupid things he said yesterday. I'm so proud of you for doing it. It's how we heal this country. We can't allow these politicians to play politics and demonize a group of Americans who just want this country to be run the way it used to be run, the way it is fair for everybody, in a way that criminals aren't empowered just to take over this country.

CARLSON: Well, that's exactly right. And these aren't partisan concerns, and I don't think any party should by definition have a monopoly on our loyalty. I think they should have to earn it. We're citizens. It's our country, no?

WHITLOCK: No question about it. And listen, we have to be willing to defend people that aren't exactly like us.

CARLSON: Yes.

WHITLOCK: So I'm not the typical Trump supporter. I grew up like a lot of those people on January the 6th. They're not from my community, but they deserve a voice in this country, no different than my father deserved a voice. I deserve a voice. My mother deserved a voice.

These are American citizens. They have rights in this country, and they need to be defended, and they need to be heard because if we don't hear them they are just going to get more and more and more frustrated, and let's not kid ourselves and I will say it and I'll stand on this, what happened on January 6th in comparison to what we saw in 2020, for anybody to call January 6 terrorism, and look at what we all went through and watch with our own eyes in 2020, it is a joke.

We know who the terrorists are, we know who was using violence to seize power, and it was Black Lives Matter and Antifa and all the people on the left. And again, I just have to applaud you and say, your voice is so important, and I thank God you made Ted Cruz, held him accountable and I'll give Ted Cruz credit for admitting he made a mistake.

CARLSON: I agree with that and for coming on. You know, I definitely think it's worth pointing out that, you know, it takes bravery to explain yourself in public and we always appreciate it. We always appreciate you, Jason Whitlock. Thank you.

WHITLOCK: Thank you.

CARLSON: Believe it or not, a year later, there are still many American citizens being held in detention simply for being present on January 6. There is no evidence they committed any violence, they've not been convicted of any crimes. Is there any precedent for that in American history? Straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CARLSON: January 6 kicked off a massive crackdown on the most basic civil liberties by the Justice Department against Trump voters and conservatives more broadly. That's the political effect. That's the historic effect of 9/11. We actually interviewed a couple of people who were hounded by the Federal government, punished and were in handcuffs because they went to the rally on January 6th.

There are a lot of people not charged or even accused of violent crimes who are still in jail.

Julie Kelly has been one of the only reporters consistently reporting out the story for the last year. She is the author of "January 6: How Democrats used the Capitol protest to launch a war on terror against the political right." Julie Kelly, we are happy to say joins us now.

Julie, thanks so much for coming on.

So I know it's a huge topic, but give us just a super quick overview of what the Justice Department did after January 6?

JULIE KELLY, "AMERICAN GREATNESS": So they immediately started rounding up Trump supporters, arresting them within days of the protest.

I think you will remember and you've talked about this quite extensively in "Patriot Purge," Michael Sherwin, who was the first prosecutor who referred to the first hundred arrests as a shock and awe campaign. And so they were just rounding people up, using social media accounts, et cetera to arrest people, some of whom were then dragged to this political prison that they opened up in Washington, D.C. specifically to house January 6 defendants.

So Tucker, at least, the Justice Department has requested pretrial detention for at least a hundred January 6 defendants. Right now, 83 men are held behind bars, some of whom have been incarcerated since the middle of January of last year, awaiting trials that won't start until April or May of this year.

And so that is -- the process is the punishment. But they are political prisoners. They've been denied constitutional rights, especially speedy trial. Judges keep signing off on discovery delays and delaying trials.

And so it's really a travesty and it is a really a travesty.

CARLSON: May I ask you a quick question. May I ask you a question?

So of those, since I know you know, the cases so well, you often hear the left say, well, people who have committed no violence are rotting in jail with no adequate lawyer. The people who have been in jail for a year now, are there some who are not accused of violence?

KELLY: Yes, there are several men who are accused of no violent crime. And when I say violent, I mean no one charged with attacking police officer, destroying property right, bringing a weapon. You have people charged with conspiracy or obstruction of an official proceeding, and then the basic trespassing charges who have been denied bail, simply because they are considered a danger to the community because they participated in the alleged insurrection.

Now, most of the people face charges with assaulting police officers, but even in that case, they're still -- they are still entitled to the presumption of innocence and due process. This is only what the government based on the government's evidence, and so now, we've got 83 -- they are adding new detainees every single week. The Justice Department wants more of these political prisoners. And again, delaying trials until the middle or even towards the end of this year.

CARLSON: It's just -- your reporting has been unbelievable. Other news organizations don't even attack you, they just ignore you because there is no refuting the information that you've gathered and we're just grateful that you have.

Julie Kelly, thank you.

KELLY: Thanks, Tucker.

CARLSON: We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CARLSON: And so our hour-long commemoration of the first anniversary of January 6 comes to a close. We wish we could say that's it. We're never going to talk about that again. It happened, it was ugly and it's over.

But unfortunately, we're not in charge. There is too much political advantage to be had by pretending it was the Civil War, and so you're going to hear a lot more and we'll cover it.

We will be back every week night, 8:00 PM, the show that is the sworn enemy of lying, pomposity, smugness, and groupthink. Have the best night with the ones you love.

And now, ladies and gentlemen, the Great Sean Hannity takes over.

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