Twitter owner Elon Musk has expressed his support for “QAnon Shaman” Jacob Chansley, based on misinformation spread by Fox News conspiracy theorist Tucker Carlson.
“Freedom for Jacob Chansley” Musk tweeted Friday night.
Chansley was sentenced to 41 months in prison in November after plead guilty to obstruct the January 6, 2021 certification of Joe Biden’s victory in the presidential election.
While the Trump-supporting activist was not charged with involvement in the violence at the broken gates of the US Capitol, he paraded through the halls carrying a six-foot spear and yelling through a megaphone before entering the Senate chamber after police urgently escorted elected officials away. to safety.
( Tucker Carlson admits he’s a liar, but ‘tries’ not to lie on TV )
Calls in defense of the actor’s failed defense have grown louder since Carlson received exclusive footage from inside the Capitol on Jan. 6.
Capitol Police and Republican and Democratic lawmakers say Carlson used the footage to misrepresent the violence that day.
Carlson, who showed security video of Trump loyalists walking past law enforcement inside the Capitol, falsely said Chansley was escorted through the building by police officers serving as “tour guides.”
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Musk picked up on that idea in his tweet. “Chansley got 4 years in prison for a nonviolent tour escorted by police?” Musk tweeted on Friday night.
Capitol Police Chief Thomas Manger in a memo, he said Carlson presented Fox News viewers with “offensive and misleading conclusions.”
“Handpicked” footage by Carlson that underscores the fact that the heavily “outnumbered” officers used “de-escalation” tactics to manage the chaotic situation after members of Congress and the vice president were removed from the chaos, Manger said.
Politifact gave the claim that the cops “helped” the people who raided the Capitol his “unadulterated.”pants on fire” qualification.
( Meta, owner of Facebook and Instagram, is building its own Twitter: report )
Republican Senator Tom Tillis of North Carolina, who was on Capitol Hill on January 6, called Carlson’s revisionism “Bulls–t.”
Musk’s tweet further fueled aggrieved Trump supporters, including eccentric actor Randy Quaid, who tweeted Justice Department plea agreement with Chansley’s attorney.
Musk bought Twitter for $44 million in October, saying it would bring integrity and fairness to the platform he has personally used to spread conspiracy theories.