The home of Fox News host Tucker Carlson was targeted Wednesday night by an angry mob of liberal protesters who hurled themselves at the commentator’s front door, ultimately cracking it.
Carlson was not home during the rioting, but his wife, Susan Andrews, was.
Carlson's wife "locked herself in the pantry and called 911." @DCPoliceDept responded to the scene. Police will be paying "special attention" to the block due to the disturbance. https://t.co/ZL7eYxzs2K
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) November 8, 2018
The conservative anchor was sitting at his desk Wednesday evening, less than two hours from his 8 p.m. show, when he started receiving frantic text messages about the mob, which Carlson’s wife thought was an home invasion.
“I called my wife,” Carlson told The Washington Post. “She had been in the kitchen alone getting ready to go to dinner and she heard pounding on the front door and screaming. … Someone started throwing himself against the front door and actually cracked the front door.”
Fearing for her life, Andrews locked herself in the pantry in their kitchen and called 911. The couple have four children, none of whom were home at the time.
In videos that have since been deleted, the group Smash Racism D.C., a local antifa group known for harassing Republicans, protesters could be heard shouting things like, “Tucker Carlson, we are outside your home,” and, “We want you to know, we know where you sleep at night.”
“Tucker Carlson, we will fight! We know where you sleep at night!” the group chanted.
The group of rioters also called Carlson a “racist scumbag” and told him to “leave town,” the place he has been since he was a child. Some also threatened to bring pipe bombs to his home.
There were roughly 20 people gathered outside Carlson’s residence, according to Lt. Jon Pongratz of the Washington, D.C., police department. Authorities first received calls around 6:30 p.m., he said, and responded “within a few minutes.”
Several media personalities weighed in on the protests:
I think Tucker is a terrible influence on modern America but that doesn’t justify harassing him at home. Go high, not low. https://t.co/LR5ZKLNRAP
— Max Boot (@MaxBoot) November 8, 2018
I love @TuckerCarlson and his family. He’s the father of four kids who should never feel unsafe or terrorized in their own home or neighborhood. No one deserves this. It’s uncivilized, frightening and evil.https://t.co/RD0SfsNX8S
— Janice Dean (@JaniceDean) November 8, 2018
This has to stop. Who are we? What are we becoming? @TuckerCarlson is tough & can handle a lot, but he does not deserve this. His family does not deserve this. It’s stomach-turning. https://t.co/5vOmriGKkV
— Megyn Kelly (@megynkelly) November 8, 2018
This trend of harassing media figures and others at their homes is really detestable https://t.co/jl9BUZL3M3
— Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) November 8, 2018
This is revolting, and frightening. https://t.co/LotbWuwB5L
— Brit Hume (@brithume) November 8, 2018
Self-righteous mob. An ugly phrase. An even uglier reality https://t.co/h4X4aONhRm.
— Jordan B Peterson (@jordanbpeterson) November 8, 2018
This is exactly what Democratic politicians and activists have been calling for. And yes, they are a mob, not protestors or activists.
Ironically, this is also what @TuckerCarlson has been warning against. Here’s our chat from just two weeks ago: https://t.co/1cI6AELtec https://t.co/xrkg3zho1V
— Dave Rubin (@RubinReport) November 8, 2018
“It wasn’t a protest. It was a threat,” Carlson said in response to the violent demonstration. “They weren’t protesting anything specific that I had said. They weren’t asking me to change anything. They weren’t protesting a policy or advocating for legislation. … They were threatening me and my family and telling me to leave my own neighborhood in the city that I grew up in.”
Carlson said he does not yet know for certain who is behind the attacks, but said he plans to find out.