Sean Hannity drew intense criticism Thursday when he described Adam Toledo, the 13-year-old killed March 29 by Chicago police despite being unarmed and with his hands up, as a “13 year old man.”
Chicago police released graphic bodycam footage from the shooting on Thursday. The footage firmly proved that despite prosecutor’s claims otherwise, Toledo wasn’t armed and was in fact attempting to surrender and comply with police orders when he was shot and killed.
Just ahead of the release of that footage, Hannity, speaking on the latest episode of his radio show, said: “We are awaiting the release this hour of Chicago Police bodycam footage that captured the fatal police shooting of a young 13 year old man by the name of Adam Toledo. And if social media is any indication, there’s a lot of chatter today about possible unrest. I hope it doesn’t happen but with Chicago’s track record, every weekend — you know, I guess, you’d have to go with the odds, considering there are dozens and dozens of shootings and killings every weekend in Chicago — that this might not be particularly good.”
It turns out he was right — there was a lot of chatter following the reveal of the information. But it was less about unrest in Chicago, and more about Hannity’s disturbing characterization of a dead child as a “man.”
“Mr. Hannity: Adam Toledo was not a ’13 year-old-man. He was a child. You make me ill,” actor George Takei tweeted.
(Excerpt) Read more in: The Wrap