Montana Man Who Confronted Tucker Carlson Is Not a CIA Plant
The Claim
The viral video of a man confronting Tucker Carlson in a Montana fishing shop was orchestrated by the CIA.
News posted on
Emerging story
A video went viral this weekend that showed a man in a fishing shop confronting Fox News host Tucker Carlson. It shows Montana resident Dan Bailey approaching Carlson, then telling him, “You are the worst human being known to mankind. I want you to know that.” Bailey added a caption to his post, writing, “This man has killed more people with vaccine misinformation, he has supported extreme racism, he is a fascist and does more to rip this country apart than anyone that calls themselves an American.”
A number of well-known alt-right political accounts are now claiming that the video was orchestrated by the White House and that Bailey himself was a CIA operative.
Misbar’s Analysis
There is no evidence to support, nor reason to believe that Bailey is a CIA operative, or that the White House orchestrated his viral video. Originally from Wyoming, Bailey is now a program manager for the National Parks Conservation Association at Yellowstone. He appears to be an avid fisherman and hunter and is a longtime resident of the town of Livingston, Montana, where the confrontation with Carlson took place.
One Twitter user found it suspicious that Bailey is also a board member for the Taimen Fund, which is an organization devoted to the conservation of a Mongolian fish. Bailey’s profile for the board says that he’d worked with the Asia Foundation, an international development foundation whose predecessor was started by and received funding from the CIA up until 1959. This is the only alleged evidence that links Bailey to the CIA.
Both privately and publicly, the CIA has contributed funding to a number of international organizations for the purpose of information gathering. It would be easy to find flimsy links between any U.S. government employee and the CIA.
Louder voices than Bailey’s have also confronted Carlson for amplifying extremist ideas on his platform. The Anti-Defamation League has called Carlson out for promoting ideas touted by white supremacist groups. In an April letter to Fox News’ CEO, the director of the Anti Defamation League urged the network to fire Carlson, writing, “...this is not legitimate political discourse. It is dangerous race-baiting, extreme rhetoric.”
