Fox News on Sunday said the network “strongly” condemns Jeanine Pirro’s stunningly Islamophobic attack on Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.). The Fox News host said on Saturday that Omar wears a hijab because the Koran “tells women to cover so they won’t get molested.” She also said the lawmaker’s religious dress may be “antithetical to the Constitution.” The First Amendment guarantees religious freedom and free speech rights.

Statements from Fox News and @JudgeJeanine re her commentary about @IlhanMN that was widely condemned as Islamaphobic. pic.twitter.com/yTEJZ0Zmfg — Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) March 11, 2019

Fox offered no details about any possible consequences for Pirro. There was no immediate response from Omar. The hijab attack was part of Pirro’s questioning of whether Omar’s criticism of Israel shows “her adherence to Sharia law”:

Fox host Jeanine Pirro says that Ilhan Omar's hijab may mean that she's against the Constitution. pic.twitter.com/yxGRVoYkQm — John Whitehouse (@existentialfish) March 10, 2019

The Council on American-Islamic Relations, the largest Muslim civil rights organization in the U.S., demanded that Fox News fire Pirro. “Such an open and un-American expression of religious bigotry should be rejected by any media outlet seeking even a modicum of credibility,” CAIR national executive director Nihad Awad said in a statement provided to HuffPost. “Jeanine Pirro should be fired, and Fox News should apologize to its viewing audience.” Pakistani American Hufsa Kamal, a producer on the “Special Report with Bret Baier,” reminded Pirro that she actually works with Muslims at Fox News:

@JudgeJeanine can you stop spreading this false narrative that somehow Muslims hate America or women who wear a hijab aren’t American enough? You have Muslims working at the same network you do, including myself. K thx. https://t.co/ZfKhRhlvM3 — Hufsa Kamal (@hufkat) March 10, 2019

Pirro’s commentary was also roundly criticized on Twitter:

Jeanine Pirro is a disgrace. Ilhan Omar's right to wear hijab in accordance with her religious convictions is as constitutional as an Orthodox Jewish woman's right to wear a sheitel. Anything less is un-American. https://t.co/O4fpTJujao — Bret Stephens (@BretStephensNYT) March 10, 2019

Wearing a hijab is not “antithetical to the the U.S. constitution” as Judge Jeanine would like to have us believe. To the contrary, it is an embodiment of the very spirit of our constitution.



Freedom of religion means freedom for everyone - not just the majority. — Deena Keilany (@deenakeilany) March 11, 2019

Will Pirro now question all who also observe their religious dress codes about their loyalty to the US Constitution? Asking for a Jehovah, Orthodox Jewish, Amish, Sikh, Baha’i, Catholic,... friend — N.J.Qadir Chaudhry (@njqrn) March 10, 2019

And Mormon! 🙋🏻‍♀️ We’ve got some quirky clothing issues... — Verity Pace (@VerityPace) March 10, 2019

Or Catholic nuns — Michael Griffin (@GoonerGriff) March 10, 2019

THE HAT YOU WEAR LOOKS REALLY UNCONSTITUTIONAL.



Is that what she's yelling? Because I yell that at the red hats all the time. — Meagan Paullin (@SunandSipCups) March 10, 2019

Religious freedom apparently isn’t one of Jeanine’s core beliefs. — Mr_Scorpio (@Mr_Scorpio) March 10, 2019

Someone should let her know the Bible violates the Constitution...pretty sure the 13th and 19th Amendments fly in the face of Exodus 21:7... — Michael Crommett (@CrommettMichael) March 10, 2019