Jose Fly
Fisker of men
Not according to the prosecution.
"Prosecutors responded that all but 10 seconds of Capitol surveillance footage, including the clips played by Carlson, had been released to Pezzola, Chansley and all defendants in September 2021. The clips shown by Carlson “are not exculpatory of Pezzola or any other participant in the siege of the Capitol,” prosecutors Jason McCullough and Conor Mulroe wrote."
And it was actually Carlson who selectively edited the video to misrepresent what occurred.
"At media outlets’ request, prosecutors also made public footage that connects Chansley more directly to rioting than the brief clip aired on Carlson’s program. In two videos released Monday, and played in court in 2021, Chansley can be seen surging through a door moments after Pezzola is seen using a stolen police shield to smash a Capitol window to access the building. And an earlier video shows Chansley among a powerful mob that overran a group of Capitol Police officers outside the building."
Of course Chansley's lawyers dispute these claims, which means a judge will have to decide.
"Prosecutors said Chansley then “faced off with members of the U.S. Capitol Police for more than thirty minutes in front of the Senate Chamber doors while elected officials, including the Vice President of the United States, were fleeing from the chamber.”
"Carlson showed clips of Chansley seemingly being escorted by police officers at times. Prosecutors acknowledged that “a sole officer, who was trying to de-escalate the situation, was with Chansley as he made his way to the Senate floor after initially breaching the Chamber, as the televised footage reflects.” The government said the footage aired by Carlson “fails to show that Chansley subsequently refused to be escorted out by this lone officer and instead left the Capitol only after additional officers arrived and forcibly escorted him out.”
"Chansley was arrested Jan. 9, 2021. He repeatedly said he acted peacefully. But the judge in his case pointed to videos, photos, social media posts and police interviews that he said clearly contradicted Chansley’s claims, saying they in fact showed Chansley helping lead the breach with a group that first broke through the Capitol’s Senate wing entrance door.
“Defendant’s perception of his actions on January 6th as peaceful, benign and well-intentioned shows a detachment from reality,” U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth wrote in March 2021 during a pretrial hearing. Chansley “blatantly lied” when he claimed that a police officer waved him into the building, the judge said, citing security footage and other video filed by prosecutors. “To the contrary, he quite literally spearheaded [the breach],” Lamberth wrote.
Chansley entered the Capitol with a six-foot pole topped with a spear tip. He wore horns, fur and face paint. In the Senate chamber, he sat in Pence’s chair and left a note declaring “It’s only a matter of time justice is coming!”"
