Tucker Carlson told a story about himself committing a hate crime to a national audience and then laughed about it. He later released a statement saying it was ok because he was both lying about and omitting important details when he originally told the story. So in the end his claim seems to be that he isn't a criminal bigot just a deceitful idiot who finds hate crimes funny; I'm so glad he could clear that up for us.
Tucker Carlson described himself participating in a hate crime --on air to a national audience. He claimed another male made a pass at him in a restroom, he left and returned 25 minutes later with a friend and assaulted the man who made the pass at him.
Of course that might not be the truth about what really happened in that restroom. Tucker Carlson himself now tells a second version of the story.
Tucker Carlson now claims he was assaulted and escaped. He then returned to the restroom with a friend to "hold" what they consider a pervert until authorities could arrive. It includes just enough changes and embellishments to change himself from the criminal into the empowered victim. I consider this a "wide stance" explanation, i.e. I find it even less credible that his original story.
I wouldn't be surprised if a guy made a pass at him in a restroom, possibly involving incidental contact, which he found very very disturbing. He then fled and perhaps later fantasized about returning with a friend and beating the guy up. That sounds more plausible to me but I certainly wouldn't expect him to admit it even if it was true.
So, Did Tucker Carlson, yes or no, really commit a hate crime? In the end the point is probably moot because the only person who really knows the whole truth is Tucker Carlson and he has told multiple versions of the story.
The fact Tucker Carlson can't really avoid is he claimed to have participated in a hate crime and then they all had a good laugh about it. The message they were sending is clearly that assaulting gay people who bother you is both acceptable and funny. At best Tucker Carlson is lying and this is a case of irresponsible school boy bravado and a monumental error in judgment --one MSNBC should be distancing themselves from as quickly as possible. At worst Tucker Carlson is a criminal bigot and should be fired. Either way this should be a huge embarrassment to MSNBC.