Former CNN Anchor Chris Cuomo Tells Tucker Carlson Jan. 6 Was Not an Insurrection

CNN's Chris Cuomo during a televised townhall in Los Angeles, Calif., on Oct. 10, 2019. Mike Blake/Reuters

NewsNation anchor Chris Cuomo has said he does not believe the Jan. 6, 2021 breach of the U.S. Capitol amounted to an insurrection while weighing in on the fatal shooting of Ashli Babbitt.

Mr. Cuomo made the comments during an interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, titled “Cuomo & Carlson: The Conversation,” which aired on March 11.

During the interview, Mr. Cuomo and Mr. Carlson discussed, among other issues, the death of Ms. Babbitt, a 35-year-old Air Force veteran from San Diego, on Jan. 6.

Ms. Babbitt was unarmed when she was shot outside the speaker’s lobby by U.S. Capitol Police Lt. Michael L. Byrd.

Lt. Byrd was not charged over her death. He is now a captain with the Capitol Police.

Speaking to Mr. Carlson, former CNN anchor Mr. Cuomo said he believes Ms. Babbitt’s death was “regrettable,” before adding that he “didn’t feel it was right to call it [the events of Jan. 6] an insurrection.”

“I know people get mad at me about this ... There’s an insurrection act, you have a statute, you have the whole thing. There has never been an insurrection that was largely unarmed, and I know people are going to say ’they had fire extinguishers and sticks,'” he said referring to those who took part in the breach of the Capitol building.

Babbitt’s Widower Files Lawsuit

“If your intention is to take over the United States government, you’re going to come heavy, you’re going to come hard, you’re going to be armed,” Mr. Cuomo said. “This was a riot, and that’s bad enough,” he added.

Despite branding the events of Jan. 6 “a riot” as opposed to an insurrection, Mr. Cuomo went on to state that Ms. Babbitt had been shot because “she put that officer in fear of his life with like 10 other people,” referencing then-Lt. Byrd.

In January, Aaron Babbitt, Ms. Babbitt’s widower, filed a $30 million wrongful death lawsuit against the government. The lawsuit claims that Lt. Byrd fired his Glock 22 pistol and struck Ms. Babbitt in the left shoulder. This occurred before announcing he was being fired at by an individual or individuals during and was prepared to return fire.

The lawsuit states that no shots were fired at Lt. Byrd or his fellow officers before he opened fire on Ms. Babbitt.

Elsewhere during the interview, Mr. Cuomo criticized Mr. Carlson for how he aired the Jan. 6 security footage he was given by then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) in February last year.

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Mr. Carlson has repeatedly questioned what he describes as the lack of transparency surrounding the events of Jan. 6 and claimed those who took part in the breach were “not insurrectionists” but “sightseers.”

“Your approach, and the approach of other people–‘Hey this was just, you know, these guys were in the wrong place, the wrong way, but that’s all it was.’ I don’t agree with that,” Mr. Cuomo said. “I think it was a riot. And I think they were way over the line, and I think they were motivated to go over the line in part by the president of the United States,” he continued, referring to former President Donald Trump.

Pictures of Rosanne Boyland, Ashli Babbitt, and Benjamin Phillips, who died on Jan. 6, 2021, are seen during a rally near the Capitol, on Sept. 24, 2022. Alex Wong/Getty Images

Mr. Cuomo added that transparency is the “key to understanding.”

Responding to his comments, Mr. Carlson said there were parts of the Jan. 6 breach of the Capitol building that “obviously were a riot” but pointed to the lack of transparency surrounding the number of federal agents in the crowd that day. The FBI has vehemently denied any involvement in sparking the breach.

“[Transparency] is the opposite to what we have, and there are thousands of hours of tape, the release of which will not jeopardize the security in the Capitol,” Mr. Carlson said.

The interview between Mr. Carlson and Mr. Cuomo aired on the same day that President Trump vowed to release individuals imprisoned for the Jan. 6, 2021, breach as one of his first acts upon retaking office in the White House, should he win the 2024 election in November.