Fox News host Tucker Carlson on Monday accused The New York Times of planning to publicize the location of his home in an attempt to endanger his family.
The video: Carlson made the sensational claim about what he said was a forthcoming news article about him by The Times during the concluding segment of his show.
The “Tucker Carlson Tonight” host claimed the write-up would be an intentional act of ideologically motivated intimidation.
- According to Carlson, “there is no conceivable justification for a story like that.
- “So why is the New York Times doing a story on the location of my family’s house?” he said. “Well, you know why. To hurt us. To injure my wife and kids so I will shut up and stop disagreeing with them. They believe in force; we’ve learned that.”
Carlson, a father of four, noted that his home address in Washington, D.C., was made public in 2018, prompting a group activists affiliated with a local anti-fascist group to show up outside one night to protest.
- “A group of screaming antifa lunatics showed up while I was at work, they vandalized our home, they threatened my wife,” he said.
- According to Carlson, the activists returned the following week and continued to target the house over the next year by mailing death threats, leading his family to move out.
- “But the New York Times followed us,” he said. “Their story about where we live is slated to run in the paper this week. Editors there know exactly what will happen to my family when it does run.”
Carlson identified freelance writer Murray Carpenter, freelance photographer Tristan Spinski and media editor Jim Windolf as journalists working on the story.
- “What if we published the home address of every one of the soulless, robot editors at The New York Times, who assigned and managed this incitement of violence against my family?” he said. “We could do that. We know who they are.”
The Times in a statement on Monday night denied Carlson’s characterization of what it planned to report, though not that a story was in the works.
The reaction: Many conservatives on social media reacted with fury to Carlson’s accusations and rallied to his defense.
Rep. Rick Crawford, an Arkansas Republican, tweeted on Monday that the Times’ alleged plans “should be condemned by any news entity who has any credibility left.”
Acting Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security Ken Cuccinelli retweeted criticism that the Times was promoting violence against Carlson, adding “That is clearly their intent,” and Meghan McCain, co-host of ABC’s “The View,” condemned doxing as “the most violating thing in the entire world.”
Some of Carlson’s supporters responded by posting what they said were Murray and Spinski’s addresses.
A number of liberals, meanwhile, accused Carlson of manufacturing the controversy to distract from a lawsuit filed against Fox and several of its hosts earlier in the day.
- The suit claims that former Fox News anchor Ed Henry raped Fox Business Network employee Jennifer Eckhart and that he, Carlson and other prominent commentators at the network verbally sexually harassed her and guest commentator Cathy Areu.
In a statement to the Washington Post, Fox said the lawsuit’s allegations against its current anchors were “false, patently frivolous and utterly devoid of any merit.”
- “Ms. Areu and Jennifer Eckhart can pursue their claims against Ed Henry directly with him, as Fox News already took swift action as soon as it learned of Ms. Eckhart’s claims on June 25 and Mr. Henry is no longer employed by the network.”
- Carlson did not address the lawsuit on Monday’s show; Henry denied the allegations against him through his lawyer.
