On Friday, Texas deputy Darren Goforth was murdered, allegedly by a black suspect, while pumping gas into his police car. On Saturday, protesters at the Minnesota State Fair appeared to threaten officers by chanting, “Pigs in a blanket/ Fry them like bacon.” Reacting to all of that during a segment on Monday’s episode of Fox & Friends, co-host Elisabeth Hasselback asked, “Why has the Black Lives Matter movement not been classified yet as a hate group?”
The former View co-host was directing her question to guest Kevin Jackson. She added, “I mean, how much more has to go in this direction before someone actually labels it as such?”
Kevin, a conservative commentator who is black, agreed. He responded, “Well, they should do it, but unfortunately it’s being financed by the leftists. And, ironically, it’s people that have nothing, really no concern at all about black lives.”
Although there doesn’t seem to be any evidence the suspect in Friday’s killing was directly linked to or inspired by the #BlackLivesMatter movement, Hickman and Harris County District Attorney Devon Anderson drew that into the conversation this weekend, when he said, “We’ve heard Black Lives Matter, All Lives Matter. Well, cops’ lives matter, too.” Deray McKesson, a Black Lives Matter leader, clarified to the Houston Chronicle that the movement actually “seeks to end violence.”
Elisabeth’s comments also aren’t going over well with many: Former View sparring partner Rosie O’Donnell tweeted, “Hasselbeck asked, ‘Kevin, why has the Black Lives Matter movement not been classified yet as a hate group? …’ some r slow 2 wake.” Perez Hilton said, “This is so offensive it’s hard to know where to even begin.”
Others on social media pointed Elisabeth to the Southern Poverty Law Center‘s criteria for a hate group, which are based on whether the organization has “beliefs or practices that attack or malign an entire class of people, typically for their immutable characteristics.” The SPLC is the only organization that formally designates hate groups.
