Scarborough Accuses Fox News Of ‘Deliberately’ Inciting Harm Against IRS Agents

MSNBC’s host of “Morning Joe,” Joe Scarborough, accused Fox News of “deliberately” inciting violence against IRS agents Friday.

Scarborough and co-host Willie Geist were discussing the Treasury Department’s denial that it would be hiring 87,000 new IRS agents as part of the so-called Inflation Reduction Act. Geist said those claiming the IRS agents will be weaponized to target the middle class are “laying the groundwork” for “violence.”

Scarborough agreed, saying he’s allegedly heard talk from Republicans about the possibility of a civil war.

“I know this all sounds melodramatic until you have the head of the FBI saying we’re facing unprecedented threats. And people that I know, people that I’ve known my entire life are texting me and talking about replacing the U.S. government, talking about civil war. You go, ‘What’s wrong with you?’ They say, ‘The IRS agents are coming with AR-15s and they’re coming to our doors. They’re going to kill us.’ Or they’re saying, ‘The FBI is coming to raid our house and take our guns away from us.'” (RELATED: ‘Marketing Device’: CNN Reporter Says Inflation Reduction Act’s Name Was Meant To Trick Manchin Into Voting Yes)

“These are the lies that have been spread not by — this is what is so disturbing — not by back-benchers. These lies have been spread by Chuck Grassley, by Kevin McCarthy, by top news hosts at Fox News. This is not Infowars. This is mainstream, pro-Trump rhetoric. They are deliberately trying to get Americans to a position of where they’ll do harm to IRS agents.”

Scarborough then quoted Fox’s Brian Kilmeade, who said IRS agents are going to “hunt down and kill middle-class taxpayers” and accused such people of “deliberately trying to gin up a civil war.”

Scarborough had former Bush adviser Richard Haass join him Wednesday, during which Haass said the U.S. may be in the “most dangerous time” since the Civil War.