“Dozens of migrants attacked U.S. border enforcement by throwing rocks and bottles. Ultimately, American authorities had to use tear gas to stop the attacks,” Boris Epshteyn for the Sinclair Group.

On Monday the Sinclair Group handed their stations a “must-run” segment defending the use of tear-gas on immigrants at the border, including women and children. Sinclair’s chief policy analyst, Boris Epshteyn, made the defense in a segment that ran in the middle of local news broadcasts on about 200 local TV stations owned and operated by the Sinclair Broadcast Group.

According to a report from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Sinclair has a regular habit of ordering segments to be run and “requiring they air them within 48 hours.”

Watch the segment below:

What is Sinclair Broadcast Group and Who is Boris Epshteyn?

Sinclair is the considered the largest media organization in the country with ownership of 193 local TV stations in over 100 markets reaching roughly 40 percent of households in the country – most of which are in the South and Midwest. Sinclair also owns four radio stations in the Pacific Northwest, one Cable network (Tennis Channel) and four digital multicast networks (Comet, Charge!, Stadium, and TBD).

As for who is Boris Epshteyn, he is a Russian-born American who immigrated to New Jersey with his family when he was 11 years old. He graduated Georgetown University with a law degree and has been a managing director at two investment banks. Epshteyn acted as a media advisor on the Trump campaign and briefly for the Trump administration. Sinclair hired Epshteyn in April of 2017.

Sinclair received national attention and criticism last April when a compilation video went viral depicting anchors at various Sinclair owned stations repeating the same script warning Americans of the dangers of fake news. The viral video brought to light Sinclair’s control over a vast network of local TV stations and their practice of forcing stations to run opinion segments advancing the viewpoints of top officials at Sinclair.

What Message did Sinclair Broadcast Group Run on Monday?

Epshteyn primarily defended the Trump administration for using tear gas at the border in the controversial segment. He stated that the migrant crisis on the U.S. southern border had escalated and border patrol agents were forced to use tear gas on asylum-seekers when the latter threw bottles and stones.

The Daily Beast reported that as footage from the confrontation played Epshteyn said, “Dozens of migrants attacked US border enforcement by throwing rocks and bottles. Ultimately, American authorities had to use tear gas to stop the attacks.”

He referenced the “attempted invasion of our country” and said it must be resisted at all costs. His use of the word “invasion” echoed President Trump who also once used the word to describe the caravan of approaching immigrants.

Epshteyn emphasized that border security and integrity is important to the American nation. He cast blame on “the left” for not believing in secure borders and following the rule of law, adding those same leftists shut themselves up in locked homes when migrants do things that threaten public peace.

“Here’s the bottom line: The notion that a caravan of migrants can be allowed to break through our borders is ludicrous and dangerous,” Epshteyn stated. “The United States of America should not and cannot be intimidated by those willing to use force to get into our country illegally.”

Pam Vogel of Media Matters, a progressive organization, revealed on Twitter that Epshteyn is in the habit of using his Sinclair “must-run” commentary segment to defend Trump’s policies. She recalled a particular episode during summer when the political analyst defended Trump’s family separation policy, saying the opposition was only trying to rake up issues where none existed.

Epshteyn told the Daily Beast in an email in April that no one in the administration tells him what to say and millions of his viewers think Epshteyn speaks his own mind and is independent from the administration.

Media Matters published the entire transcript of the segment:

BORIS EPSHTEYN (HOST): The migrant crisis on our southern border has greatly escalated. This past weekend, the United States was forced to temporarily close a major point of entry in San Diego, California, in response to hundreds of migrants attempting to storm the U.S.-Mexico border in hopes of claiming asylum. Dozens of migrants attacked U.S. border enforcement by throwing rocks and bottles. Ultimately, American authorities had to use tear gas to stop the attacks.

Some on the left, such as Democrat Congresswoman Maxine Waters, were immediately up in arms about our president and his team standing up for our men and women in uniform and for our national security. The fact of the matter is that this is an attempted invasion of our country. Period. Our border must remain intact and secure. It is not a partisan position to believe that our immigration system is broken and needs to be fixed. However, it unfortunately appears that there are many on the left who believe it is wrong to defend our country and abide by the rule of law. I would bet that many of those same people live behind walls and locked doors but do not want to afford the same benefit to our country as a whole.

Here’s the bottom line: The notion that a caravan of migrants can be allowed to break through our borders is ludicrous and dangerous. The United States of America should not and cannot be intimidated by those willing to use force to get into our country illegally.