Joseph M. by Hahnemann
A majority of American voters believe the federal government played a role in inciting violence at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, a national poll has found.
A Rasmussen Reports poll of 963 likely American voters found that 65 percent believed that undercover federal agents helped spark the riots at the Capitol on Jan. 6.
That result was up 4 percentage points from a March poll taken before now-former Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson aired several previously unreleased security videos from the Capitol.
Forty-six percent of those polled said they thought it was “very likely” that government agents helped incite violence at the Capitol. Twenty-six percent said they did not believe the government had instigated the riots, including 12 percent who thought it was “not at all likely.”
Carlson’s producers spent several weeks sifting through more than 41,000 hours of footage from Jan. 6, to which House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (D-Calif.) had exclusive access.
A series of Fox specials the first week of March detailed Carlson’s findings. They showed Jan. 6 defendant Jacob Chensley, the so-called Canon Shaman, being led inside the Capitol and released by Capitol Police into the US Senate chamber.
The release of the videos on Fox drew the ire of Democrats, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.). Schumer called on Fox owner Rupert Murdoch to block Carlson from showing the Jan. 6 security footage.
Rasmussen found that 67 percent of voters said they were following news about the Jan. 6 videos closely, including 39 percent who followed the news “very closely.”
Thirty-two percent of respondents said the new videos made them more likely to believe former President Donald Trump’s supporters were engaged in an “illegal insurrection,” while an equal 32 percent said they were less likely to believe the “rebellion” story as Jan. 6 The result of new videos of
Another person discussed on Carlson’s air was Ray Epps, the former head of the Arizona Oath Keepers, who was famously caught on camera the day before the Jan. 6, 2021, protests calling for people to enter the U.S. Capitol.
In an April 23 CBS “60 Minutes” segment, Epps accused Carlson of targeting him. “He’s obsessed with me,” Epps told CBS’s Bill Whittaker. “He will use any means necessary to destroy my life and ours.” The FBI told the network that “Ray Epps was never an FBI source or an FBI employee.”
The results of Rasmussen’s survey, conducted on April 12, 13 and 16, were just the latest indication that the public wants to know more about what is contained in the 41,000 hours of security video, much of which is protected by court order. from the public. .
A Rasmussen Reports poll released March 2 found that 80 percent of likely U.S. voters believe it is important that the public be able to view all videos of the Capitol riot, including 58 percent who believe it is very important. Only 17 percent said they didn’t think it was important for the public to be able to see all of the Jan. 6 videos.