Meanwhile, in America
Fox News host Tucker Carlson has defended the pro-Trump US Capitol coup, during a segment in which he also claimed George Floyd died of an overdose – and not as a result of police brutality.
In a baffling segment which lasted around one minute 40 seconds, Carlson challenged the legitimacy of established facts surrounding the attempted insurrection at the US Capitol.
This is infowars shit, just a completely batshit conspiracy theory blasted into your meemaws face pic.twitter.com/pjHzzeo5At
— Andrew Lawrence (@ndrew_lawrence) February 11, 2021
On January 6th this year, a pro-Trump mob stormed the historic US Capitol building while Congress was in session certifying Electoral College votes.
Five people – including one police officer – died as a result of the carnage that ensued.
After footage of rioters storming the Capitol building played out, Carlson said:
“So what does all this mean, exactly? We don’t know for certain, and we’re not going to speculate.”
But speculate Carlson did. To a bizarre degree.
The Fox News host added, “We do know for certain that the known facts of what happened on January 6th deviate in very important ways from the story they are now telling us, including the story they told us today in the impeachment hearings.
“In many places, they’re just flat out lying. There’s no question about that.”
Carlson then took aim at the Black Lives Matter protest movement, which gathered pace in the United States after Minneapolis man George Floyd was killed by police during a routine arrest.
Four police officers were sacked, including Derek Chauvin – responsible for placing his knee on Floyd’s neck for up to eight minutes.
Chauvin faces second-degree murder charges, and is due to stand trial in March.
Carlson said: “Months later we learned the story they told us about George Floyd’s death was an utter lie.
“There was no physical evidence that George Floyd was murdered by a cop. The autopsy showed George Floyd almost certainly died of a drug overdose – fentanyl. But by that point, facts didn’t matter. It was too late.”
These accusations are steeped in irony, considering Carlson went the best part of two whole minutes making large, sweeping generalisations without being challenged. He also provided no evidence to reinforce his viewpoints.
George Floyd’s death was officially ruled a homicide, and a second autopsy commissioned by his family found “evidence is consistent with mechanical asphyxia as the cause” of death.
Holding your own personal beliefs is one thing. Sharing them with a platform of millions of impressionable viewers is another. Especially when there is no factual evidence reinforcing a single point you make.
