Fox News Host Disavows Internment Camps, After Panelists Suggest Rounding Up Muslims

Marina Fang
Updated

A Fox News host on Sunday clarified his own position on internment camps, denouncing them as “reprehensible,” after two panelists on the network suggested rounding up British Muslims in response to Saturday night’s terror attack in London.

Clayton Morris, a host of “Fox and Friends Weekend,” made the statement on behalf of the network.

“Earlier on the show, we had a couple of guests mention the word ‘internment,’ the idea of internment camps, as a possible solution to this,” he said. “I think I made it well known my feeling on that, which I find reprehensible, but on behalf of the network, I think all of us here find that reprehensible here at Fox News Channel, just to be clear.”

On Sunday, two of the show’s guests, including Brexit leader Nigel Farage, now a Fox News contributor, had touted the idea of internment camps.

“We want genuine action, and if there is not action, then the calls for internment will grow,” Farage said. “We have over 3,000 people on a sort of known terrorist list, and we’re watching, monitoring their activities. But [there are] a further 20,000 people who are persons of interest, namely they’re linked in some way to extremist organizations. Unless we see the government getting tough, you will see public calls for those 3,000 to be arrested.”

Farage conceded that “we might alienate decent, fair-minded Muslims in Britain.”

In a subsequent segment, Daily Mail columnist Katie Hopkins, asked about Farage’s comments, said she agreed with the idea of internment camps.

“We do need internment camps,” she said. “Before, I would have bought the idea that this gets more people radicalized — you know, that’s not the solution. But we’ve gone beyond the tipping point. This country cannot take another attack.”

President Donald Trump, a frequent Fox News viewer whose political career the network helped to elevate, has previously called for banning Muslim immigration and proposed creating a “registry” of Muslims living in the U.S.

Trump responded to Saturday’s terror attack by promoting his executive order banning travel and immigration from six majority-Muslim countries. The ban has faced multiple legal setbacks and could be headed to the Supreme Court.

In more tweets early Sunday morning, Trump feuded with London’s mayor and tried to provoke further alarm.

Some of the tweets seemed to indicate that Trump may have been watching Fox News, as he often does while posting his typical early morning tweets.

On “Fox and Friends Weekend,” Morris said: “Notice we’re not having a gun debate right now, because they didn’t kill with guns. They killed with knives. They killed with an ideology.”

An hour later, Trump tweeted something similar.

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A woman prepares to lay some flowers for those killed, at the perimeter cordon, following last night's London terror attack, on June 4, 2017 in London, England.
A woman prepares to lay some flowers for those killed, at the perimeter cordon, following last night's London terror attack, on June 4, 2017 in London, England.
Police forensic investigators work outside Borough Market. 
Police forensic investigators work outside Borough Market. 
A group of girls react near London Bridge.
A group of girls react near London Bridge.
A woman walking her dog reacts near London Bridge while talking to a police officer. 
A woman walking her dog reacts near London Bridge while talking to a police officer. 
Members of the public view the scene after police officers raided a property in East Ham in London, England. 
Members of the public view the scene after police officers raided a property in East Ham in London, England. 
A union flag is flown at half mast in Westminster. 
A union flag is flown at half mast in Westminster. 
Women arrive at the north end of London Bridge with flowers. 
Women arrive at the north end of London Bridge with flowers. 
Police forensic officers work and collect evidence on London Bridge as police continue their investigations. 
Police forensic officers work and collect evidence on London Bridge as police continue their investigations. 
A police officer looks at a floral tribute left by a man near the scene of the terror attacks. 
A police officer looks at a floral tribute left by a man near the scene of the terror attacks. 
A police officer stands near first-aid debris on Thrale Street. 
A police officer stands near first-aid debris on Thrale Street. 
A police forensics investigator works on London Bridge.
A police forensics investigator works on London Bridge.
Police forensic officers work on London Bridge. 
Police forensic officers work on London Bridge. 
Discarded medical supplies are seen at one of the locations within the perimeter cordon. 
Discarded medical supplies are seen at one of the locations within the perimeter cordon. 
Forensic officers move a stretcher into the back of an ambulance on London Bridge. 
Forensic officers move a stretcher into the back of an ambulance on London Bridge. 
Counterterrorism officers march near the scene of a terrorist attack on London Bridge. 
Counterterrorism officers march near the scene of a terrorist attack on London Bridge. 
Police forensics officers work on London Bridge. 
Police forensics officers work on London Bridge. 

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.