- Fox News cut away from a violent and profanity-laced video of clashes between protesters and federal police in Portland shown during Friday’s White House press briefing.
- The decision was not fully explained by the network, which consistently carries White House briefings in full.
- “We were not expecting that video, and our management here at Fox News has decided we will cut away at this time,” Fox News host Harris Faulkner said.
- Faulkner addressed the decision to cut away at the top of the hour but did not specify whether swear words in the graffiti or from the audio of the protesters was the reason the network cut away.
- “Once it aired, FOX News made the decision it was inappropriate for a daytime audience and temporarily dropped out of coverage,” a network spokesperson told Business Insider in a statement.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
A bizarre episode unfolded at Friday’s White House press briefing when press secretary Kayleigh McEnany kicked things off by playing a video of protesters clashing with federal police in Portland, Oregon.
McEnany was accusing “the media” of ignoring the protests, which she described as “riots.”
Fox News quickly cut away before returning to the briefing for the Q&A portion.
—Alexander Nazaryan (@alexnazaryan) July 24, 2020
The video contained swear words shown in graffiti and bleeped profanity from protesters confronting police.
Fox News host Harris Faulkner addressed the decision to cut away twice but did not specify if the violence or profanity was the principal reason for turning away from the briefing.
“We were not expecting that video, and our management here at Fox News has decided we will cut away at this time,” Faulkner said right after the network cut away. “Some tough images there, a lot of things that we didn’t anticipate to be shown in terms of some wording on the screen.”
“FOX News was not provided with any advance warning that a video using profanity would air during this afternoon’s White House press briefing,” a network spokesperson told Business Insider in a statement. “Once it aired, FOX News made the decision it was inappropriate for a daytime audience and temporarily dropped out of coverage.”
The Justice Department’s internal watchdog announced Thursday that it opened an investigation into the actions of federal law-enforcement agents in Portland.
Inspector General Michael Horowitz announced that his office launched the probe in response to requests from Democratic lawmakers and Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum.
The Justice Department’s Office of the Inspector General will coordinate its investigation with the Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general, Horowitz said.
Portland made headlines this month following the appearance of over 100 unidentified federal agents who have been seen driving unmarked vans and pulling protesters off the streets. Trump said he sent agents to the city to tamp down on violent crime and suggested it was linked to demonstrations over the killing of George Floyd.
Over the weekend, Rosenblum said her state was suing the Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection, and other federal agencies to “stop the federal police from secretly stopping and forcibly grabbing Oregonians off our streets.”
Oregon Sens. Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden also spoke out against the events and described agents patrolling the streets of Portland as a paramilitary force.
On Wednesday, Trump announced he would deploy federal agents to other US cities, including Chicago and Albuquerque, New Mexico, in a dramatic escalation of the White House’s crackdown on anti-racism demonstrations in the wake of Floyd’s death.
Both Trump and Barr linked the recent uptick in violent crime to the protests, but neither provided any evidence to support their claims.
