WASHINGTON, DC — The following is a statement from Muslim Advocates Public Advocacy Director Scott Simpson, on Tucker Carlson’s bigoted, anti-Muslim rant about Rep. Ilhan Omar that aired on his Fox News show on Tuesday: 

“Tucker Carlson’s latest rant on Rep. Ilhan Omar is a dangerous escalation of his anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant rhetoric. These remarks are part of a clear pattern of racism, sexism and white nationalism that Carlson has long championed. 

On his show, Carlson repeated one false, anti-Muslim trope after another about Omar, saying that she ‘hates’ America multiple times and invoking ‘dangerous’ immigration from places ‘whose values are simply antithetical to ours.’ This is not a critique of Omar’s ideas or politics. This is hate speech directed at her as a Muslim and as an immigrant.

Attacks on mosques and hate crimes against Muslims have skyrocketed in recent years and these bigoted tropes contribute to a toxic culture where divisiveness and racism trump American values of religious freedom for all people. This is not the first time Carlson has shown such naked bigotry on his show and it won’t be the last as long as Fox gives him a platform. 

Fox News should fire Tucker Carlson and advertisers should stop funding this bigotry immediately.”

Muslim Advocates is a national civil rights organization working in the courts, in the halls of power and in communities to halt bigotry in its tracks. We ensure that American Muslims have a seat at the table with expert representation so that all Americans may live free from hate and discrimination. 

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