Tucker Carlson is accusing Texas Democratic lawmakers of committing an act of “insurrection” after they fled the state to stop an elections bill.
“By leaving Texas, they in other words violated their sworn duty to represent their voters, and they committed what amounted to an act of, yes, insurrection,” Carlson said on his show Tuesday night.
He continued, “Why? So that Texas lawmakers couldn’t pass laws against voter fraud. Laws, by the way, that voters in Texas have said overwhelmingly they want passed. That’s democracy, but they’re not getting it.”
Watch his comments below:
Tucker: They committed what amounted to an act of insurrection pic.twitter.com/g8hXXHen5M
— Acyn (@Acyn) July 14, 2021
Carlson suggested, “Preventing lawmakers from making laws, shutting down the vote, would not seem like a defense of democracy.”
He argued, “In fact, it would appear to be just the opposite. It would appear to be an assault on the very core of democracy, which is the legislature, the people’s house.”
The Washington Post notes Carlson has used the word insurrection “in sarcastic scare quotes” following the January 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, which has been repeatedly referred to as an “insurrection.”
The Fox News host previously downplayed the Capitol riot.
“There’s no evidence that white supremacists were responsible for what happened on Jan. 6. That’s a lie,” Carlson said on his show in February.
He added, “And contrary to what you’ve been hearing, there’s also no evidence this was a, quote, ‘armed insurrection.'”
Politifact points out “substantial evidence shows extremist groups, including people who have publicly expressed support for white supremacist ideals, were among those in the crowd.”
Carlson suggested the FBI organized the riot.
Former Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly also recently downplayed the January 6 events, as IJR reported.
“There is no question the media represented it as so much worse than it actually was,” Kelly said during an episode of her podcast.
Five Americans died as a result of the Capitol riot.