Fox News' coverage of the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol Takeover was "even worse than you remember"

The Daily Beast

"By and large, the network, especially its 'straight news side,' censured the Jan. 6 violence, including on-air denunciations of the riots that evening, as the network has repeatedly claimed," says The Daily Beast's Justin Baragona. "Even Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham, the Fox News stars whose worried Jan. 6 texts to the Trump White House have become part of a House committee’s investigation, have been consistent in condemning the attack. (Of course, broadly condemning the violence has never translated into any effort to hold its main instigator accountable.) And yet, it’s easy to forget how Fox’s coverage played out as the siege itself unfolded. In fact, at the same exact time rioters fought with police and stormed the Capitol—smashing windows, ransacking offices, and physically attacking law enforcement—the network’s daytime news hosts downplayed or completely misread the violence and, at times, even seemed to cheer on the MAGA mob. In the early afternoon of Jan. 6, 2021, following Trump’s bombastic 'Stop the Steal' speech, in which he urged his followers to 'fight' for him and stop Congress from certifying Joe Biden’s election victory, thousands of MAGA heads swarmed the Capitol. It didn’t take long for the seditious mob, some of whom were yelling 'Hang Mike Pence,' to overwhelm police officers and breach the building. Despite the chaotic scene unfolding before their eyes in real time, the network’s much-touted “hard news” team kicked off its coverage of the events at the Capitol by suggesting there was nothing of concern, early on labeling it a 'peaceful' protest." ALSO: Tucker Carlson's Fox Nation Jan. 6 docuseries Patriot Purge doesn't hold up under scrutiny.