During his April 14 monologue, Fox host Tucker Carlson cited and rebroadcast footage shot by Infowars personality Samuel Montoya, who was arrested on Monday for his participation in the January 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.

Media Matters has previously reported on Montoya’s presence at the U.S. Capitol on January 6. 

During his show, Carlson repeatedly referred to Montoya as a “journalist,” cast him as a victim targeted for his political beliefs, and expressed regret that Montoya could not appear on his show. But as Carlson himself pointed out, Montoya was not registered with the congressional press office “as an individual or via any other news organization” when he entered the Capitol during the January 6 attack. Carlson also displayed a link to Infowars in an on-screen graphic during the segment.

 

Carlson brushed off Montoya’s association with Infowars, saying, “Did Samuel Montoya have strong personal political views? Apparently he did. But you may have noticed that’s not so unusual in journalism right now.” 

One day prior, Infowars’ Alex Jones had covered the arrest of his staffer and had made similar arguments about Montoya being a supposed journalist. Jones described the situation as “an attack on Infowars.” He predicted that “they’re going to keep Sam in jail like they’ve done with other conservatives” and claimed others who have been arrested for their involvement at the Capitol will be treated preferentially because of their political views.

Infowars immediately celebrated Carlson's segment, placing it front and center on its website. 

Carlson has previously defended Infowars, and has appeared on the outlet multiple times.

Jones is reportedly under investigation by federal prosecutors and the FBI regarding his role in the Capitol attack.  

While Jones did not enter the Capitol himself, instead retreating to a “secure location” during the storming, Infowars' Montoya did go inside as both a mob participant and a recorder of the events. Shortly before entering the building, he said, “We have had enough,” and “I got to be honest, this is not a peaceful protest.” Once he crossed the threshold, he yelled, “Guess what? We are in the Capitol, baby!” From a video uploaded to Infowars' streaming platform Banned.video, it is apparent that he was just feet away from rioter Ashli Babbitt when she was fatally shot near the Speaker’s Lobby.