Donald Trump has sued members of the January 6 committee for treason for “knowingly refusing” to share footage of the Capitol riot broadcast by Tucker Carlson.
The former president called members of the Democrat-led panel “political hacks and thugs” who have been “totally discredited” by the new videos.
In his Truth Social post, he also called for the release of all captured Jan. 6 prisoners and suspects after the Fox News host aired more clips about his show on Tuesday night.
It featured an interview with a Capitol police officer who wore a MAGA hat during the riot, who resigned a short time later, believing he had no future in law enforcement.
Carlson got 40,000 hours of footage from inside the Capitol, which House Speaker Kevin McCarthy says was a decision made for transparency.
Donald Trump has called on members of the January 6 commission to be tried for treason for ‘knowingly refusing’ to share the footage of the Capitol riot broadcast by Tucker Carlson
The former president called members of the Democrat-led panel “political hacks and thugs” who have been “totally discredited” by the new videos.
“GREAT WORK BY TUCKER CARLSON TONIGHT,” Trump wrote late Tuesday night.
“The Unselect Committee of political Hacks & Thugs has been totally discredited.
“They knowingly refused to show the videos that mattered. They must be tried for fraud and treason, and those imprisoned and prosecuted must be acquitted and released, NOW.”
Treason is punishable by death in the US and the lowest prison sentence is five years.
It is described in the Penal Code as: “Whoever, because of allegiance to the United States, wages war against them or supports their enemies, renders aid and comfort to them in the United States or elsewhere, is guilty of treason and shall suffer death, or be imprisoned for not less than five years and fined under this title, but not less than $10,000; and shall not be able to hold any office under the United States.”
On Monday, Carlson claimed the footage showed the rioters were “predominantly peaceful.” On Tuesday, he spoke to Lieutenant Tarik Johnson about Johnson’s turmoil and disgrace after he was seen wearing the hat.
Johnson told Carlson that his bosses let them down, saying the Capitol police commanders were ill-prepared and did not answer when he radioed for help.
He said it was embarrassing that his boss, Assistant Chief Yogananda Pittman, who oversaw the department’s operations in the days leading up to the riot, had been lauded by Nancy Pelosi and now had a cozy role as chief of police on the University of California at Berkeley.
Lieutenant Tarik Johnson is seen wearing a MAGA cap on January 6
Johnson told Tucker Carlson (right) there was no response when he radioed for help during the riot
“The frontline officers and supervisors were not prepared at all,” Johnson told Carlson.
“We had no idea what we would experience that day.”
Carlson broadcast footage of Johnson appearing to help protect members of Congress in the building when it was stormed.
Johnson was suspended the day after the riot, when footage of him wearing the MAGA cap surfaced.
He then resigned, believing he had no future in the police force.
Carlson suggested that Johnson did his job diligently.
“Around 2:00 am, I hear an officer say that the Capitol has been breached. So I ran in to help,” Johnson said, adding that he locked doors to keep political leaders safe.
He then called his bosses for help.
“I said something along the lines of, We need direction,” Johnson said.
‘”What do you want me to do?” Nobody responded.’
Assistant Chief Yogananda Pittman, who oversaw the department’s operations in the days leading up to the riot. She was promoted on January 7, but resigned in July 2022
Johnson condemned Pittman’s leadership
Johnson is seen on January 6 working to evacuate the Capitol
Johnson continued, “I requested permission to evacuate the Senate side, the Senate chambers, because I had a clear line of sight to get them out the Senate door, and I was denied permission.
‘The coordinator called a few times to ask if I could get permission.
‘No answer.’
He said his superiors failed, so he had to take the initiative.
“The person I thought would approve the evacuation didn’t,” Johnson said.
“I wanted to get those congressmen out as soon as possible.
“That’s why I initiated those evacuations.”
He said he was deliberately ignoring chain of command and usual procedures.
“Because I was disciplined, it wasn’t as important as not getting the congressmen and their staff to safety.”
Carlson asked him about the moment he put on the MAGA cap.
“There was a protester to my right, he reached over and put on the MAGA hat,” said Johnson, a self-declared Biden voter.
“He asked it back and I said I’d like to keep it, because the hat is going to help me.”
Carlson said, “It’s your passport through the mob.” Johnson agreed.
“I thought if I had the hat on it would be easier for me to navigate the crowd.
“It was basically self-preservation and de-escalation and I had to get up those stairs.
“I couldn’t tell what would have happened if I had walked through that crowd without him.”
Johnson said he was never contacted by the January 6 commission, even though he wanted to testify about what he saw.
“I wondered why every day,” he said.
“And every day I might have a different answer, but I watched how much they focused on Donald Trump, and not the failures of the Capitol Police.”
Asked by Carlson why the rioters were in the Capitol, Johnson said some wanted to be violent, but others thought they were acting patriotically.
“I think some people there were planning to get violent. Some people may have become violent after what they went through.
“I think people wanted to support their president.
“Some of those people just wanted to support him and some of those people didn’t commit violence, and some of those people didn’t intend to.”