Jussie Smollett’s release Wednesday night was a sad day for “equal justice,” according to Tucker Carlson, because the actor is supposedly being treated better than some accused Jan. 6 rioters.
Smollett, who was sentenced last Thursday to 150 days in jail – as well as 30 months of felony probation – was released on a $150,000 bond on Wednesday after an appeals court agreed with his lawyers that he shouldn’t be imprisoned before his conviction is potentially reversed on appeal.
The former Empire star got his way because he “is not a Trump voter,” Carlson claimed on his Fox News show. “He’s not one of those Jan. 6 guys rotting in solitary for more than a year. He’s Jussie Smollett. He’s a famous actor…He’s a Hillary man.”
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Carlson’s defense of those who participated in the deadly Capitol insurrection – and his downplaying of the event itself – is well-documented. (He called one member of the far-right Oath Keepers who is facing sedition charges a “thoroughly loyal American.”)
The Fox News host has also pushed conspiracy theories about Jan. 6 with the help of a controversial documentary, and in a telling exchange got quite angry at Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) when the lawmaker called the insurrection a “terrorist attack.”
More than 700 people have been charged thus far for their alleged role in the insurrection. The first jury trial in a Jan. 6 case concluded last week when an armed Texas militia member was convicted on all five counts against him.
Later in his show, Carlson checked in again on Smollett's then-impending release.
The actor “is about to walk out of jail any moment now, unlike the Jan. 6 defendants,” Carlson whined. “What happened to equal justice?”
