Fox News host Sean Hannity admitted that Curtis Sliwa, the founder of the anti-immigration vigilante group, the Guardian Angels, lied during an appearance on his show Tuesday night when members of his group tackled a man they claim is a migrant and accused him of shoplifting.
Hannity’s interview with Sliwa live from Times Square Tuesday night was cut short after members of the Guardian Angels tackled an unidentified man on the sidewalk.
“Our guys have just taken down one of the migrant guys right here on the corner of 42nd and 7th while all this has taken place. They’ve taken over!” Sliwa, who has a history of fabricating stories, told Hannity.
“He had been shoplifting first. The Guardian Angels spotted him and stopped him,” Sliwa said. “He resisted. And let’s just say, we gave him a little pain compliance. His mother back in Venezuela felt the vibrations. He’s sucking concrete. The cops scraped him off the asphalt.”
However, the New York Police Department said the supposed “migrant” was a 23-year-old New Yorker from the Bronx and had not been charged with shoplifting.
Towards the end of his show Thursday, Hannity “set the record straight.”
“Before we go tonight, I want to talk about Curtis Sliwa’s appearance on this show on Tuesday night, when members of the Guardian Angels stopped a man, and the police were called,” he said. “Now, Curtis said the man was a migrant and that he was shoplifting. Fox News has since spoken to the NYPD. Apparently, the statements made by Curtis that the man is a migrant is not true. And the man was given a summons for disorderly conduct.”
“Today, Curtis Sliwa acknowledged to The Washington Post that the man has not been charged with shoplifting,” Hannity continued. “And Curtis said in part, ‘I shouldn’t have been listening to the crowd. That was my mistake. I should not have had that knee-jerk reaction.'”
