‘Antifa does not appear by accident’: Tucker says rioting is meant to ‘affect a political outcome’

Fox News host Tucker Carlson said Friday that Antifa “does not appear by accident” and intends to secure a political outcome in the wake of Memphis police releasing footage of a fatal altercation involving officers and a motorist.

“As we speak, Antifa is coordinating riots on both coasts and in between. That would include Seattle, Portland, Oregon, Los Angeles, Commie California, as well as Atlanta, Georgia, New York City, suburban Washington, D.C., et cetera, et cetera. Barricades are going up right now in Times Square. NYPD is worried about attacks on police and potentially public transportation,” Carlson, an honorary member of the Daily Caller News Foundation board, said.

“‘Our rage is stronger than their power!’ declared the Antifa chapter in Frederick, Maryland. Of course, by morning, we’ll know if that is true, but we already know there is a lie embedded in the claim,” Carlson continued. “Our rage? ‘We got so mad watching Fake News CNN that we took to the street and set police stations on fire,’ or whatever they plan to do? No, that’s not what’s happening.”

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Demonstrations started in the wake of the Friday release of video footage of a Jan. 7 encounter between Tyre Nichols and Memphis Police Department officers. Five police officers were fired and charged after Nichols died from injuries sustained in the altercation during a traffic stop.

“Antifa is not a bunch of hooligans. These are not idle kids who appear out of nowhere because they are so mad about what they saw on cable news or read on Twitter. Antifa is a political instrument whose actions always are intended to affect a political outcome, period. Antifa does not appear by accident. Antifa appears with a purpose, to affect a political outcome, every single time,” Carlson said.

“If there’s one criticism of the rest of us watching this at home, is that we often miss that, because every channel is telling us something terrible happened, here’s a video of it, and sometimes that video is terrible,” Carlson added. “And then they imply that, because of this video, the emotions of the people watching just erupt into rage and violence. But that’s not what’s happening.”

Antifa has allegedly threatened or attacked conservative events at colleges and political rallies in the past, including a riotduring Donald Trump’s 2017 inauguration as president.

“Antifa is being organized by whom? We don’t know. Why don’t we know? To do what? We can’t say right now,” Carlson said. “But we know for certain that, in cities across the country, right now, Antifa is mobilizing to commit violence. This is a political militia.”