January 6 Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson Denies Deceptively Editing Footage

Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS) has denied ever deceptively editing video while serving as chairman for the January 6 Select Committee.

Fox News host Tucker Carlson on Monday released new, unseen footage from the Capitol Hill riot that unfolded on January 6, 2021, which appeared to portray a different picture than the one that former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) painted.

Throughout his segment, footage showed scenes that ran contrary to some of the narratives put forth by the January 6 committee by claiming rioters had participated in an “insurrection.”

One particularly jarring piece of footage actually appeared to show Jacob Chansley, a.k.a. the “Qanon Shaman,” being calmly escorted through the Capitol by police officers. As Breitbart News reported:

One portion of the footage from the Capitol that Carlson discussed touched on the timing of and cause of U.S. Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick’s death. Carlson said the footage shows Sicknick was alive after he was allegedly killed by people at the Capitol and the footage was viewed by members of the January 6 Committee, who refused to release it to the public.

In 2021, the D.C. Medical Examiner’s office concluded that Officer Sicnick’s death was due to natural causes, a finding the U.S. Capitol Police accepted.

Another portion of the footage showed the movements inside the Capitol on January 6 of various people who entered the building — most notably the so-called “QAnon Shaman,” Jacob Chansley. Carlson said that while some of the people who entered the Capitol were “hooligans” and committed vandalism, others inside the Capitol aren’t that day were not and respected the building. In some of the security footage aired by Carlson, Chansley is seen walking near police in the Capitol building unobstructed.

When pressed by Kerry Picket of the Washington Times if the committee deceptively edited footage, Thompson denied it and added he did not know the name of Jacob Chansley, a.k.a. “QAnon Shaman.”

“I don’t know who he is,” Thompson told the outlet.

Thompson also asserted it was “not true” the committee on which he served as chair selectively edited security footage to sell the “insurrection” image.

The January 6 Committee also claimed Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MS) appeared to run out of the chamber like a coward when the riots sparked, but as the footage from Carlson showed, he was the last lawmaker escorted out of the chamber.

Pure gaslighting: "Nobody ever claimed that Officer Sicknick died that moment." https://t.co/VAg9uyCp1z

— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) March 7, 2023

“I stand by the tape,” Thompson told Picket.

As Breitbart News reported last year, the January 6 Committee deceptively edited a video to appear as if former President Donald Trump had praised the rioters when he did not.

“The committee played Trump’s comments — which referred to his peaceful rally, over a mile away — over visuals of clashes between rioters and police,” said the report. “‘They were peaceful people. These were great people,’ Trump was heard saying.”

Correction: The state Rep. Thompson represents has been corrected to Mississippi.