SUBJECT: Fire Brian Kilmeade for advocating lethal injection of unhoused people
Dear Fox News Executives,
TO: viewersfeedback@foxnews.com
I am writing to express my outrage at the comments made by Brian Kilmeade on Fox & Friends on September 10. In a discussion about unhoused people, he said: “Or, uh, involuntary lethal injection or something. Just kill them.”
This was not a slip of the tongue. It was a dangerous statement broadcast on national television that dehumanizes unhoused people and normalizes violence against them. Over six unhoused people die every single day in Los Angeles County, many from violence, preventable illness, or the trauma of life on the streets. To joke about lethal injection in this context is not only reckless. It actively fuels the conditions that put people’s lives at risk.
A quick on-air apology does not erase the harm. Words like these circulate, add fuel to hatred, and embolden extremists who may take them literally. Other networks have swiftly severed ties with commentators who made far less extreme remarks. By refusing to hold Kilmeade accountable, Fox News is signaling that calls for extermination of vulnerable people are acceptable content for your airwaves.
Unhoused people are already disproportionately targeted by violence and criminalization. Just in the past week we’ve seen how deadly this climate has become. On September 15, unhoused residents in Minneapolis were the victims of a mass shooting, and instead of offering housing, the city sent in bulldozers, throwing away tents, belongings, even an urn containing a child’s ashes. That same day, an unhoused man named Corey Zukatis and a Black man named Demartravion “Trey” Reed, were found hanging from trees in Mississippi. These deaths echo the racial terror embedded in this country’s history. This is political violence, and it is escalating.
If Fox News has any standards, Brian Kilmeade should be removed from his position. Anything less tells the public that advocating for the killing of unhoused people, including veterans, seniors, and people with disabilities, is compatible with your platform.
I urge you to act immediately to fire Brian Kilmeade. To do nothing is to consent to extermination rhetoric. The safety, dignity, and humanity of our neighbors depend on drawing this line clearly.
