tucker carlson

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Tucker Carlson’s dramatic story of protesters at his home is full of holes

An attorney dismantles his account.

 

David Covucci

IRL

Posted on Nov 12, 2018   Updated on May 21, 2021, 1:54 am CDT

In the wake of the 2018 midterms, the national conversation almost immediately reverted back to the civility debate that overtook the country this summer—this time after protesters went to Tucker Carlson’s house.

The Fox News host said last week that protesters surrounded his D.C. home, and in an account to the Washington Post, said that his wife was so terrified she hid in a pantry and called 911.

Carlson’s version of the story spread across the internet, prompting Twitter to suspend Smash Racism DC, the organization that led the protest. Numerous figures in media decried the behavior of the protesters, whom Carlson said cracked his door. Fox even decided to protest Twitter over its failure to suspend accounts that shared his home address.

Despite the fact that Carlson’s account was immediately challenged by protesters who were present, the narrative that an out-of-control mob was about to run over Carlson’s house persisted.

Until yesterday, when it got ripped apart with a viral thread by Rebecca Kavanagh, an attorney with Legal Aid NYC.

In it, she challenges Carlson’s account of violence at his home, noting how no arrests where made, and that the protesters willingly brought along neutral observers to ensure the protest didn’t violate any laws and were properly exercising their First Amendment rights.

That Carlson may have embellished his story resonated with people who have known him over the past few years to stoke fears and grandstand on his nightly news shows.

https://twitter.com/mollycrabapple/status/1061873393774051328

Meanwhile, Carlson is facing even more drama online, after attorney Michael Avenatti released a video of an altercation Carlson had with a man at a country club in October, where he’s seen cursing at him.

Carlson released a statement about his own version of the country club incident, saying the man had directed a sexually graphic insult at his daughter.

Perhaps now, though, his explanation deserves to be taken with a grain of a salt.

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*First Published: Nov 12, 2018, 9:48 am CST