A Breitbart writer was reportedly fired after remarks that suggested the UK would have been terrorism-free if it had restricted Muslims from residing there.
She made the remarks following the terror attack in London on Saturday, which killed seven and injured at least 48. The terror group Islamic State has claimed credit for the attack, and British police have identified two of the three men behind the attack as Khuram Shazad Butt and Rachid Redouane.
According sources who confirmed the firing to CNN, Katie McHugh was dismissed after tweeting, "There would be no deadly terror attacks in the U.K. if Muslims didn’t live there." She then incorrectly identified the race of actor Pej Vahdat, who called her a “moron” for making the remarks.
There would be no deadly terror attacks in the U.K. if Muslims didn’t live there. #LondonBridge
— Katie McHugh (@k_mcq) June 3, 2017
McHugh has a history of tweeting disparaging and racist remarks. In 2015, she tweeted:
Mexicans wrecked Mexico & think invading the USA will magically cure them them of their retarded dysfunction. LOL. https://t.co/H5D7YFLGNQ
— Katie McHugh (@k_mcq) September 17, 2015
Another Crusade would do a lot of good. Let’s turn Mecca into a strip mall! https://t.co/q7LGCDN0TB
— Katie McHugh (@k_mcq) September 17, 2015
Breitbart has a special place in the Trump administration, with its former executive chair, Steve Bannon, serving as White House chief strategist.
The right-leaning website also has a history of running stories that highlight crime from unauthorized immigrants. Sounding the alarm over Muslim refugees are a particular subset of these types of stories, running headlines like, "Police Arrest Somali Muslim Refugees for Trying to Join ISIS" and "Muslims Constitute Largest Share of Refugees to U.S., Nearly Half So Far This Year."
So it might seem surprising that a site with decidedly critical coverage of Muslims — particularly in the context of terrorism — might let go of McHugh, who also tweeted anti-Muslim sentiments previously and kept her job. But the tweet she sent in the wake of the London attacks appears to have stepped over the line for Breitbart.
We’ve reached out to Breitbart to comment on the situation and will update when we hear back.
Meanwhile, McHugh responded to her removal with a crowdfunding campaign to pay for her “essential medical bills.” Her campaign, launched on the alt-right site WeSearchr, urges people to “support Katie McHugh: Fired From Breitbart For Telling The Truth.”
McHugh told WeSearchr, “Breitbart News fired an editor for speaking frankly about Islam and Muslim immigration.” She said, “I said nothing wrong. As President Donald Trump says, if we don’t get smart, it will only get worse.”
Before being hired as the Breitbart weekend editor in 2014, McHugh worked for the conservative media outlet the Daily Caller.
In McHugh's Breitbart hiring announcement, she said, “Conservative journalism means exposing the truth and giving the public the full picture — nothing less.”
