The Jan. 6, 2021, riots have been called one of the biggest threats to our democracy in the past century. For two years, people on both sides of the political aisle have been making claims about what occurred. A Congressional select committee was even formed in part to shed light on what had occurred on that consequential day. 

Still, the American people learned on March 6, 2023, through the release of the footage to only one person instead of the general public, that we still do not know the whole story. 

Tucker Carlson was provided with all of the Jan. 6 footage by Speaker Kevin McCarthy. Now, whatever you think of Carlson frankly does not matter. What matters is that Carlson was able to construct another story about the events of Jan. 6 that was seemingly contradictory to the congressional committee’s evaluation. It was so damning, in fact, that members of the committee have called out Carlson for cherry-picking footage. 

However, the same could also be said for the select committee’s assessment. 

All the footage needs to be released to the public so that the people can make their own conclusions. It is abhorrent for politicians and journalists to tell the American public what opinions to hold about a subject. It is time for Americans to have the raw data and be able to make their own conclusions — not rely upon those that are forced on them.

The other problem is that McCarthy only released the video footage to one news outlet, and at that, one show host at that news outlet. This choice shows biases and increasing in-groupness in Congress, which may be a subject for another article, but it still confirms that the American people will continue to receive only a small sliver of what actually occurred on Jan. 6. The public discourse has been reduced to sound bites and summary statements made by supposedly “trustworthy” people. Those same people who claim to be unbiased, but you can see their partisan affiliations from a mile away. 

McCarthy’s limited release of the footage does not equal transparency, and Carlson is as trustworthy as a career politician.

Why are Americans not allowed to know exactly what is in the footage? There are no military or state secrets in the tape that could harm the safety of our nation if the footage was released. The footage does not deal with party politics and talking points, as both Republicans and Democrats held the ability to release the footage and elected not to do so. This is what should scare the American people the most. 

What could possibly be in the footage that Republicans and Democrats would not want to use against each other? What could get them to agree? 

Our politicians are treating the American people like children, keeping the footage out of our eyes for “our own good.” But we are not Congress’s children. In fact, the relationship should go the other way around, considering we elect them. 

They need to stop trying to hide information from us because if there is nothing on the footage that goes against what they claim, then why not release it all?

At this point, there have been too many conspiracies spread, too many conflicting stories about what “actually happened” and way too long since Jan. 6, 2021 for this to still be contentious. 

Release the footage to “We the People of the United States of America,” not just Carlson, not just journalists and not just to those on Capitol Hill. The long overdrawn debate over what “actually happened” needs to end, and it can with the swipe of a pen. So sign the order and release the footage.