Fox News’ Tucker Carlson blamed the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement Monday for America’s dramatic rise in violent crime over the past year.
Carlson explained during the broadcast of his show “Tucker Carlson Tonight” that “BLM did this to us” by driving policy changes as a result of the death of George Floyd in May of last year. (RELATED: ‘Oh Please!’: Leo Terrell Rips Chris Hahn Over Use Of ‘The Race Card’ In Heated Gun Violence Debate)
Carlson began by noting that from the beginning of the year through mid-March there were more than 370 carjackings reported in the city of Chicago. He stated that crime data showed that was the most carjackings in Chicago in a three month period “in at least 20 years.” He added that this rise in crime was happening everywhere, and not just in Chicago.
“As we advance toward a full year of mourning the death of a single man on a sidewalk in Minneapolis, thousands of Americans have been murdered thanks to the policy changes justified by the death of that man,” Carlson continued, referencing the death of George Floyd in May of 2020. “Ponder that for a minute. Has there ever been a more perverse moment in this country? It’s not clear what we can do about it, but you can tell the truth out loud. That’s a start and that’s what’s happening.”
He went on to cite the Washington Examiner in saying the murder rate in every city in the U.S. “is at its highest levels in more than two decades.” He added that last year there were more homicides in the U.S. than any year since 1998.
“How did that happen? Oh, BLM. Thanks, BLM. BLM did this to us,” he said. “While the people who were funding them were posturing about how great they are and this is going to make America more equitable, poor people were paying the price with their lives, and no one has admitted this, and no one is accepting responsibility for it, and no one has been punished for it.”
“Irony of ironies, few places are more dangerous than the actual physical place where George died in Minneapolis.” Carlson concluded.
The largest cities in the U.S. saw a 30% increase in homicides in 2020. A significant increase in the homicide rate occurred in June 2020 following the death of Floyd. Nine of the cities with the largest increases in homicide rates were cities that hosted BLM and Defund the Police protests.
Residents and business owners around George Floyd Square, the location of Floyd’s death in Minneapolis, have pleaded with the city to take action after an increase in violence in the area, with police often being unwelcome by some of the civilians occupying the square. Police, aided by the FBI, have vowed to restore safety to the area.