Sinclair forces local TV news stations to air segment supporting use of tear gas on migrants at U.S. border

Boris Epshteyn

Conservative media empire Sinclair Broadcasting Group has raised controversy several times for ethically questionable practices such as asking station news directors to give to its political action committee and airing sponsored content without labeling it. The latest dust-up stems from its order to about 200 local news stations to air commentary from conservative political analyst and former Trump campaign aide Boris Epshteyn defending the Border Patrol's use of tear gas against migrants crossing the border on Sunday, Caleb Ecarma reports for politics-and-media-analysis publication Mediaite.

Epshteyn said in his commentary that the "migrant crisis at our southern border has greatly escalated" and said American authorities were obliged to use tear gas to stop "dozens of migrants" from throwing rocks and bottles at border agents. He then condemned "the left" in general and Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., specifically for questioning Trump and "his team standing up for our men and women in uniform and for our national security," Escarma reports.

It isn't the first time Sinclair has done such a thing; 173 stations were forced to air Epshteyn's pro-Trump commentary in July 2017.