On Friday, Fox News Channel host Bill O’Reilly dubbed Black Lives Matter “essentially a hate America group.”

O’Reilly said, “[T]here are too many incidents where minority Americans are being killed or hurt over low level beefs. That’s the truth, and law enforcement leadership must compel their own individual agencies to act with restraint. I support the police, you know that, and I do not believe they are targeting black Americans in general. … But, again, fatal mistakes are unacceptable, and there are too many of them.”

He then denounced CNN anchor Don Lemon, filmmaker Spike Lee, and CNN commentator Bakari Sellers as “provocateurs” and argued that Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton (D) threw “a rhetorical bomb” with his comments about police.

O’Reilly concluded, “Micah Johnson was a hater and a terrorist. Black Lives Matter inflames, rather than illuminates. It is essentially a hate America group. Law enforcement leaders should make fair dealings with minority Americans a top priority. Finally, we as a nation need to fight the racial madness that is harming the USA, by being fair ourselves, and calling out the haters wherever they may be.”

Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett