Fox News anchor Laura Ingraham on Monday accused two members of the US military of engaging in animal-themed sexual kink activity while in uniform, based off claims she acknowledged were unverified and came from a seemingly random Twitter thread.
During the segment, the conservative opinion commentator repeated, essentially verbatim, allegations that two male service members engaged in dog-themed kink activity, including wearing dog masks inside a military facility in Hawaii.
The right-wing host called the conduct “disturbing” and accused the service members of “disgracing the uniform.”
“At least we have our military leadership to stand up as examples of good and ethical behavior, right? Well that’s wrong,” she said.
The Independent is not naming the individuals from the thread or the group that posted the allegations, because the claims are unverified.
When reached by The Independent over Facebook, one of the men named in the segment replied, “I’m so embarrassed,” and said he was seeking legal representation. The other individual appears to have deleted his social media profiles.
“US Army Pacific is aware of content found on social media reflecting Soldiers’ activities while wearing uniforms,” the military told Fox in a statement, according to Igraham. “The incident is currently under investigation.”
The account that posted the allegations about the service members in a Twitter thread does not belong to a media outlet or military expert, and appears to mainly share conservative news articles and commentary. It did not respond to a request for comment from The Independent.
The accusation against the military members is hardly new for Fox News, whose primetime hosts frequently describe queer identity and sexuality in sensational terms, such as Tucker Carlson referring to gender-affirming medical care as “genital mutilation,” or Ms Igraham describing schools which acknowledge the existence of LGBT+ people as “essentially grooming centres for gender-identity radicals.”
Across the country, LGBT+ say the new political climate, where conservative politicians and media figures alike casually accuse people of being “groomers” and make discussion of queer identities in schools illegal, is putting them at risk.
Robbie Pierce, who is gay, said a stranger accosted his son and accused Mr Pierce and his husband of being groomers.
“What we need is people to stand up for us when we’re not there,” Mr Pierce told The Independent. “We need people to never allow that kind of rhetoric to spread, and to always point out how absurd and harmful it is. … We just have to … expose it for how foul and toxic it is, and don’t let it spread. That’s what’s going to lead to tragedy, if that rhetoric is allowed to spread.”
Last month, a 22-year-old killed five people and injured numerous others in a mass shooting inside an LGBT+ nightclub in Colorado.
