Collins calls for release of prisoners from Jan. 6 incident

The tweet was sent as Carlson played clips of the Capitol attack—handed over to him by House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy—during his primetime show.

Not all Republicans agree with Not all Republicans agree with Carlson and Collins, however.

Minority Leader of the United States Senate Mitch McConnell as well as several other Republican U.S. Senators said Carlson’s portrayal of the Jan. 6, 2021 incident was incorrect.

Approximately 518 people have pleaded guilty to a variety of criminal charges in connection to the riot, according to the Department of Justice, with 235 receiving a custodial sentence. A number of Republicans, such as Georgia’s Marjorie Taylor Greene and Florida’s Matt Gaetz, have described those arrested as "political prisoners," with the clips featured on Carlson's show further increasing conservative outrage.

Collins’ office then released the following statement when contacted by multiple media outlets about his comments.

“Representative Collins has long been an outspoken supporter for the rights afforded to all Americans under the Constitution and Bill of Rights and will continue to do so while in Congress.”

Carlson said the footage he aired on Monday disputes the “lies" told by Democrats and those sitting on the House Select Committee investigating the January 6 attack. Carlson alleged that the Democrats exaggerated the violence which occurred that day.

During a “Tucker Carlson Tonight” broadcast on Monday, the host said: “A small percentage of them were hooligans, they committed vandalism ... but the overwhelming majority weren’t. They were peaceful, they were ordinary and meek. These were not insurrectionists, they were sightseers.”

Carlson played footage that showed "QAnon Shaman" Jacob Chensley being allowed to walk through the building's corridors without being stopped by police.

Carlson showed clips of Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick, who died a day after the riots, looking “healthy and vigorous” after he was attacked by Trump supporters to suggest his death was “very obviously” not the result of violence he suffered at the entrance to the Capitol.

A medical examiner ruled that Sicknick died of natural causes after suffering multiple strokes hours after the riot and that the events of Jan. 6 “played a role” in his condition.

In a statement, Sicknick's family accused Carlson of spreading “lies” about the Jan. 6 attack by choosing to air clips that downplayed the violence in order to support his “delusional” views that the insurrection was “peaceful.”

Collins was a strong supporter of President Donald Trump during his tenure in the White House and continued to support him even when Trump endorsed Vernon Jones in the 10th Congressional District Republican primary last year.

Collins eventually defeated Jones in a runoff and then cruised to election against his Democratic opponent in the general election in November. He officially took office earlier this year and is in his first term in Congress.

On March 6, the Department of Justice said that around 1,000 people have been arrested in connection to the January 6 attack, including more than 100 who were charged with using a deadly or dangerous weapon or causing serious bodily injury to an officer.

Nineteen people have been found guilty of assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers, a felony, including one—former New York police officer Thomas Webster—who has been sentenced to 10 years in prison.