FCC’s Brendan Carr Decries Baltimore State Attorney’s ‘Chilling And Direct Attack on Free Speech’

Commissioner of Federal Communications Commission Brendan Carr testifies during an oversig
ALEX WONG/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
Sean Moran

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Commissioner Brendan Carr decried on Monday Baltimore, Maryland State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby’s call for an investigation against a news station a “chilling and direct attack on free speech.”

Mosby filed a complaint last week to the FCC requesting an investigation into WBFF, the Sinclair-owned Fox affiliate station in Baltimore.

As Breitbart News reported, the complaint against WBFF alleged the station engaged in coverage that is “blatantly slanted, dishonest, misleading, racist, and extremely dangerous.” The attorney’s office also alleged that the station engaged in an “intentional crusade against Mosby, “which given today’s politically charged and divisive environment, is extremely dangerous.”

“While the frequency of the coverage in question by WBFF would give any reasonable person pause, it is the tone of coverage that violates FCC rules. The coverage by WBFF represents acts that are not merely against the public interest; they also represent acts that are inflammatory against the public safety of an elected official,” the complaint claimed.

Billy Robbins, the vice president, and general manager of WBFF, rebuked the complaint levied against his station.

 “WBFF is committed to journalism in the public interest with its award-winning investigative unit being a key part of delivering on that commitment,” Robbins said in a statement last week. “While we understand that it’s not always popular with the individuals and institutions upon which we are shining a light, we stand by our reporting.”

Carr slammed the Baltimore state attorney’s office for trying to have the FCC censor a news organization.

“A State’s Attorney filed a complaint with the FCC asking us to censor a newsroom because the official doesn’t like their coverage of her. This is a chilling & direct attack on free speech & journalist freedom. It’s part of a surge in calls by Dems for the FCC to silence speech,” Carr wrote.

“The FCC should dismiss this complaint with prejudice by the end of today. No journalists should have a complaint like this from their city’s top prosecutor hanging over their newsroom,” he said.

“The State’s Attorney’s Office complaint alleges that there is troubling, abhorrent, and outright dangerous’ conduct going on here. They are correct in this respect—it is the conduct of the State’s Attorney’s Office that is troubling, abhorrent, and outright dangerous,” Carr added.

Sean Moran is a congressional reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter @SeanMoran3.

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