WATCH: Tucker Carlson Defends Kenosha Killer Kyle Rittenhouse – ‘Had To Maintain Order’

On Wednesday, Fox News host Tucker Carlson justified the actions of Kyle Rittenhouse, the 17-year-old who shot and killed two protesters in Kenosha, Wisconsin, during the demonstrations protesting the shooting of Jacob Blake. Carlson placed the blame onto the Wisconsin government.

“Kenosha devolved into anarchy because the authorities abandoned the people. Those in charge, from the governor on down, refused to enforce the law. They’ve stood back and watched Kenosha burn,” said Carlson.

Kenosha devolved into anarchy because the authorities abandoned the people. Those in charge, from the governor on down, refused to enforce the law. They’ve stood back and watched Kenosha burn. Are we really surprised that looting and arson accelerated to murder? pic.twitter.com/oul2KUiDi3

— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) August 27, 2020

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“How shocked are we that 17-year-olds with rifles decided they had to maintain order when no one else would?” Carlson said. He implied that Rittenhouse was acting in self defense, though he admitted that he did not know everything about the situation.

Rittenhouse was charged with first-degree intentional homicide. He was arrested in Antioch, Illinois, and he had crossed state borders with a semiautomatic rifle to get to Kenosha.

The response to Carlson’s comments has drawn criticism from the public and from his fellow journalists. One reply asked, “Is there any question at all that Tucker is a straight up white nationalist? Any at all?”

Is there any question at all that Tucker is a straight up white nationalist? Any at all?

— JSternburg (@JSternburgProd) August 27, 2020

“How shocked are we that Tucker Carlson decided he had to maintain his fussy depravity when no one else would dare by giving a thumbs up to murder,” tweeted Kara Swisher, co-founder of Recode and a contributing opinion writer at The New York Times.

How shocked are we that Tucker Carlson decided he had to maintain his fussy depravity when no one else would dare by giving a thumbs up to murder. No one, since being surprised at the latest bile to spew forth from this wanna-be man/persistently piqued desk jockey is redundant https://t.co/IXzWu7O2mM

— Kara Swisher (@karaswisher) August 27, 2020

“I promise that if this man was not white, Tucker Carlson would not be praising him for murdering people,” tweeted Jennifer Wright, columnist for the New York Observer and the New York Post.

I promise that if this man was not white, Tucker Carlson would not be praising him for murdering people. https://t.co/4E4DdQxXHH

— Jennifer Wright (@JenAshleyWright) August 27, 2020

Matthew Gertz of the Media Matters for America tweeted that Tucker’s comments were “the closest thing I’ve ever seen to pure, unfiltered fascism in American public life.”

The first ten minutes of tonight's Tucker Carlson Tonight are the closest thing I think I've ever seen to pure, unfiltered fascism in American public life. Going out to the largest cable news audience ever.

— Matthew Gertz (@MattGertz) August 27, 2020

Last year, Carlson denied that white supremacy was a problem in America, saying that it was only a “hoax, just like the Russia hoax.” Carlson had also ranted about Black Lives Matter protesters previously, describing the Minneapolis protests in the wake of George Floyd‘s death as “a threat to every American.”