LOS ANGELES (Gray News) – ABC says it is taking Jimmy Kimmel‘s popular late-night show off its schedule indefinitely.
According to multiple reports, ABC’s move comes after Nexstar Media Group, one of the largest owners of TV stations in the country, said it would be preempting airings of the program following remarks Kimmel made about the a̲s̲s̲a̲s̲s̲i̲n̲a̲t̲i̲o̲n̲ of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
FILE – In this Feb. 26, 2017 file photo, host Jimmy Kimmel appears at the Oscars in Los Angeles. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP, File)(Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)
CNN reports that Nexstar said it “strongly objects to recent comments made by Mr. Kimmel concerning the killing of Charlie Kirk and will replace the show with other programming in its ABC-affiliated markets.”
According to Variety, Kimmel’s Monday monologue included saying that the “MAGA gang” was trying to score political points off Kirk’s murder.
“We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang trying to characterize this kid who killed Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them,” Kimmel is quoted as saying on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”
Earlier on Wednesday, Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr suggested that his team could take action against Disney and ABC over Kimmel’s remarks.
Kirk was shot and killed on Sept. 10 at a debate at Utah Valley University. Authorities announced they had arrested the suspected shooter, identified as 22-year-old Tyler Robinson.
FOX 12 Investigates first reported on these detentions back in July after analyzing data obtained through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed by academics and attorneys at UCLA.
Downtown Portland, Oregon and the location of a federal immigration office. (AP Graphic)(Kevin S. Vineys | AP)
“U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement made clear detention limitation commitments to our community, and we believe they broke those policies more than two dozen times,” said Portland Mayor Keith Wilson.
The ICE facility serves as a processing center where federal officers detain and interview people to determine their legal status. Like similar facilities in other U.S. cities, it has drawn public attention in recent years amid increased federal immigration crackdowns.
The city’s permitting bureau opened an investigation in July after complaints from residents, the city said. Officials then reviewed data released to the Deportation Data Project, a nonprofit that obtained federal records through the Freedom of Information Act.
The ICE building in Portland’s South Waterfront.(KPTV)
For more than 100 days, protesters have camped outside of the ICE Facility, protesting recent immigration raids and often heckling federal agents seen coming in and out of the building — something that has led to routine clashes between officers and protesters.
Two of those protesters, who go by “Grey” and “Lily,” said they were happy to see city leaders finally taking action on the facility Wednesday, although they were cautiously optimistic.
“It’s a long time coming,” Grey said. “The ideal for me would be to no longer have this building. It is a symbol of what is going on and what is wrong.”
Lily said if the city stops anywhere shy of revoking the building’s permit, she and others won’t be happy.
“If they don’t take what’s happening with this permit seriously, it’s just going to create more momentum out here,” Lily said. “We’re going to come back stronger each night.”
Under Portland’s land use permitting rules, the facility’s operator or landlord has 30 days to correct violations once a notice is issued, the city said. If violations are confirmed, the city can levy fines or schedule a hearing to reconsider the land use approval. Hearings must be scheduled at least 60 days after a notice is sent, and is heard by a hearing officer, who will make a ruling on the permit.
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The City of Portland plans to issue a land use violation notice this week to the ICE facility.
Regardless of that hearing officer’s decision, the ruling can be appealed to city council, which would then take on an unusual “quasi-judicial body” role, ultimately being the final entity to decide whether or not the permit should be revoked, if fines should be levied or if some other course of action is more appropriate.
Because of the city council’s potential quasi-judicial role, councilors are now forbidden from expressing personal opinions on the ongoing fight over the ICE Facility.
The slow action and lack of response from city councilors caused tension at Wednesday night’s city council meeting, where more than a dozen protesters repeatedly interrupted proceedings, calling for a quicker end to ICE’s presence in Portland. Several protesters, like Holly Brown, had to be led out of the meeting by security after refusing to back down.
“We believe this is actually an emergency,” Brown said. “So, sixty days is way too long.”
Councilor Angelita Morillo, an immigrant herself and a frequent advocate for immigrants’ rights in the city, was limited on what she could say Wednesday due to her quasi-judicial role. However, she acknowledged the frustration of protesters and the lengthy process ahead.
“Frankly, I find land use processes to be very tedious and bureaucratic and terrible but that is the power that we have as council and that is the power that we have to use,” Morillo told FOX 12.
