The Fraternal Order of Police has issued a statement in which it lashed out at White House press secretary Jen Psaki for her criticism of Fox News for its coverage of increasing crime rates and her questioning the need to talk about "soft on crime consequences."
"I think it's wrong — very wrong — for Ms. Psaki to suggest that violent crime in our country is of no concern or to just laugh it off," Fraternal Order of Police President Patrick Yoes said in the statement. "She may feel safe in the White House, one of the most protected buildings in the United States, but not everyone feels safe in their workplace."
The remarks that angered Yoes were made by Psaki on the podcast "Pod Save America," where she criticized Fox News for covering crime while other media outlets reported on other stories, Fox News reported.
Psaki said that "on Fox is Jeanine Pirro talking about 'soft-on-crime consequences.' I mean, what does that even mean, right? So there’s an alternate universe on some coverage. What’s scary about it is a lot of people watch that."
The statement from the Fraternal Order of Police, which is the largest police union in the United States, emphasized that "the world we find ourselves in is dangerous and is becoming increasingly more so. Tens of thousands of people have been the victims of crime this month alone and some of them never made it back home."
The statement also stressed that "there are many reasons for this escalating violence in many of our communities, and one of them is agenda-driven prosecutors who have gone rogue.
"Many of them are refusing to bring charges against so-called 'low-level' or 'nonviolent' offenders. Under their leadership, which has been abhorrent in many cases, many violent offenders don't stay in jail — they're back on the streets and free to commit more crimes.”
Fox News pointed out that crime did surge at the start of the coronavirus pandemic before President Joe Biden was elected, but that is has continued to increase during his administration, with, for example, at least 16 cities across the nation setting records for murders last year.
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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