this post was submitted on 14 Sep 2025
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Fox News host Brian Kilmeade suggested using "involuntary lethal injection" to kill homeless people with mental illness during a September 10, 2025 segment of "Fox & Friends"[^1]. The comments came during a discussion about the murder of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska by a homeless person with schizophrenia in North Carolina[^2].

After co-host Lawrence Jones argued that homeless people should be forced to accept help or face jail time, Kilmeade interjected: "Or involuntary lethal injection... or something. Just kill 'em"[^3]. His co-hosts briefly acknowledged the comment before continuing their discussion[^4].

The remarks sparked widespread condemnation. Rep. Don Beyer of Virginia tweeted: "America's homeless population includes over a million children and tens of thousands of veterans, many of whom served in Iraq or Afghanistan. Nobody deserves to be murdered by the government for mental illness or poverty"[^1].

California Governor Gavin Newsom responded by quoting Proverbs 21:13: "Whoever closes his ear to the cry of the poor will himself call out and not be answered"[^3].

[^1]: The Independent - Fox News' host Brian Kilmeade says 'just kill 'em' about mentally ill homeless people

[^2]: Rolling Stone - Fox Host Says to 'Just Kill 'Em' While Discussing Homeless People Who Decline Help

[^3]: HuffPost - 'Just Kill 'Em': Fox Host Makes Shocking Comment On Homeless People

[^4]: Media Matters - Fox News host on mentally ill people who commit crimes: "Just kill them"

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[–] Bonifratz@sh.itjust.works 103 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Time to read up on Aktion T4, the Nazi campaign to mass murder people with disabilities and mental illness. During Aktion T4, the Nazis developed the techniques later used in concentration camps.

Kilmeade's comment is a Nazi comment.

Also, I don't know Don Beyer and maybe the tweet is meant in good faith, but arguing "we shouldn't kill the homeless because some of them are children or veterans" is highly problematic, too.

[–] Rudee@lemmy.ml 24 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Unfortunately some people have sympathy so selective that unless you can tug on very specific heartstrings, they will never give a damn about other people.

[–] hector@lemmy.today 13 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

They are cynically playing the sheep, they have no heartstrings.

And the sheep are led into an alternate reality where the moral thing is to follow these cynical influencers.

It did not happen overnight, 30 years of fox working on previous propaganda has step by step brought their sheep to support fascism.

[–] plyth@feddit.org 6 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

What if the sheep are also cynical and happily enjoy the benefits while the leaders shield them from blame and bad conscience?

[–] hector@lemmy.today 4 points 2 weeks ago

Then they are cynical influencers too, just less effective ones.

Half the party faithful might be mostly sheep, half mostly cynical. But that is my guess idk.

[–] ExtremeDullard@piefed.social 70 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

So this guy was sacked, right?
Just like the MSNBC dude who expressed schadenfraude OFF THE AIR over Kirk's murder, right?

[–] Luouth@lemmy.world 31 points 2 weeks ago

Probably got a promotion

[–] Zerush@lemmy.ml 62 points 2 weeks ago
[–] bloup@lemmy.sdf.org 61 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (5 children)

Fox & Friends co-host Brian Kilmeade endorsed euthanizing unhoused people suffering from mental health issues who decline getting help.

Why do journalists do this sort of thing where a guy will literally say that we should murder homeless people and then they try to dress down their language to the point of dishonesty? Euthanasia is when you help something die that is in horrible unyielding pain. Not when you kill something because you don’t know how to take care of it.

[–] wurzelgummidge@lemmy.ml 20 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Journalists are an endangered breed, Fox certainly doesn't employ any

[–] floofloof@lemmy.ca 9 points 2 weeks ago

They're not talking about the language of the Fox presenters. They're talking about the journalists who report on what the Fox presenters said.

[–] RidgeDweller@sh.itjust.works 9 points 2 weeks ago

News orgs, and frankly many public institutions, seem to be lliability averse to a fault. My guess is journalists have generally been instructed to use passive language to avoid libel lawsuits due to the expense of settlement or counsel fees.

Passive language has become so common in journalism these days, and the far right terrorist cohort realizes the vocal minority bad faith pearl clutching schtick works well enough that they continue to threaten litigation against objective truth regularly. It's Trump's MO, and I assume it works because those being sued are terrified his base will be out for blood if he doesn't get his way.

The more the news orgs settle and normalize this shit, the more inertia there is to get back to reality. It's maddening, tbh.

[–] Hanrahan@lemmy.world 8 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (1 children)

Why do journalists do this sort of thing

FOX has always said it's entertainment, not News. They use that defence in court cases. They're not journalists, they're entertainers.

[–] bloup@lemmy.sdf.org 16 points 2 weeks ago

to be clear I’m quoting the Rolling Stones article that was linked

[–] plyth@feddit.org 4 points 2 weeks ago

Why do journalists do this sort of thing

They are professionals and write however they are paid to write.

[–] UltraMagnus0001@lemmy.world 44 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)
[–] unconsequential@slrpnk.net 10 points 2 weeks ago

Zero chance he gets fired. He didn’t go off script. He just read the brackets.

[–] Croquette@sh.itjust.works 6 points 2 weeks ago

It's not a call for violence, so that's cool beans

[–] BarneyPiccolo@lemmy.today 42 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

The Conservative Propaganda Machine is now openly calling for a systematic, government program to murder an entire large demographic group that makes them uncomfortable.

[–] MasterBlaster@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

And in response to one of their own killing Kirk, the administration is about to embark on a campaign to cancel, jail, or deport all liberal, progressive, and leftist organizations like the ACLU - because they all support violence against conservatives, a bald-faced lie.

[–] QuoVadisHomines@sh.itjust.works 34 points 2 weeks ago

Reminder this guy 16 years ago used overt white supremacist language on Fox and Friends and still kept his job.

[–] ideonek@piefed.social 34 points 2 weeks ago

All people who were in the room and didn't voice a protest should never be hired in media again.

[–] Yerbouti@sh.itjust.works 33 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Remember the famous speech by Jesus: Involuntary lethal injection is A-Ok if it's for homeless people, but never involuntary inject a racist-sexist-hateful right wing figure with a bullet, that's not cool.

[–] HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world 14 points 2 weeks ago

It seems to me, from what I understand from doctors, that's really rare. If it's a legitimate involuntary bullet, the male body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down.

[–] OhStopYellingAtMe@lemmy.world 28 points 2 weeks ago

But they get upset when we call them Nazis.

[–] rizzothesmall@sh.itjust.works 25 points 2 weeks ago

Which is fine because he wasn't drawing attention to the known facts that Charlie Kirk was a divisive fascist and the president is sitting on evidence that he, the president, is a pedophile.

[–] unwarlikeExtortion@lemmy.ml 21 points 2 weeks ago

Step 1 of Nazi mass murder: ✓

[–] zergtoshi@lemmy.world 20 points 2 weeks ago

If anyone can call for murder of anyone simply for being inconvenient, how long until people call for the murder of people like Brian Kilmeade?
Do the Brians seriously not see that coming?
Do those fucktards really think their opponents will forever try to stay on the moral high ground?
The future may hold some surprises for them, but not the kind of surprise they will like.

[–] barnaclebutt@lemmy.world 14 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Odd, I kinda feel the same way about Brian Kilmeades.

[–] zergtoshi@lemmy.world 8 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Imagine him introducing himself as "I'm Brian, Kill Me..." and before he gets to finish the sentence, you do him the favour!

[–] Corkyskog@sh.itjust.works 4 points 2 weeks ago

For some reason I am imagining this as an anime scene and I don't even watch anime.

[–] obre@lemmy.world 13 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Just remember, if you're working class you're never more than three bad months away from homelessness

[–] MasterBlaster@lemmy.world 5 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Actually, I think you are being optimistic. Probably 2 months considering the debt most people have just to eat regularly.

[–] Zahille7@lemmy.world 4 points 2 weeks ago

Closer to 1 month-a couple weeks.

[–] collapse_already@lemmy.ml 12 points 2 weeks ago

"We support our troops."

[–] FordBeeblebrox@lemmy.world 11 points 2 weeks ago

This is A) Horrifying and B) Literal stochastic terrorism.

Any left leaning folk who aren’t familiar with firearms should start practicing now, the Nazis are drumming up a fight whether we want it or not

[–] badbytes@lemmy.world 9 points 2 weeks ago

That is literally, terrorism!

[–] Tenderizer78@lemmy.ml 8 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Newsom is in no position to criticize Kilmeade's abhorrent views.

[–] nightlily@leminal.space 4 points 2 weeks ago

I was about to say, didn’t he destroy a homeless camp as a photo-op?

[–] Werbert@lemmy.world 8 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)
[–] NoodlePoint@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago

All of them on that newschannel are cunts.

[–] muxika@lemmy.world 6 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

I knew this was a shit timeline, but not "Street Trash IRL" bad.

Edit: Street Trash is a movie where a mysterious liquor starts "dissolving" the homeless when they drink it.

[–] PanArab@lemmy.ml 6 points 2 weeks ago

May he face what he condemns others to.

[–] HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world 5 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

that sounds like a very mentally deranged position. no, it is a mentally unwell position, one which requires therapy and mental health treatment to address. I believe and a thing i like to call radical empathy. Treat others how they want to be treated? No. That's bullshit. Treat people how they believe in treating others. Give the other boot a try. As such, applying reference 3 from your source material to its speaker would be both a kindness to its speaker, as he views it as kindness, and a kindness to society, as it removes him all the fuck ways away from us. Seems like his position or his life is due for a change.

[–] huppakee@feddit.nl 5 points 2 weeks ago

one which requires therapy and mental health treatment to address.

Not everybody is capable of developing empathy though, it also sounds sociopathic. The problem isn't only the one guy saying something crazy, it is also his environment not intervening.

[–] NoodlePoint@lemmy.world 3 points 2 weeks ago

Scumfuck wants a white world around him.

[–] july@leminal.space 1 points 2 weeks ago

Themselves included?