Jeanine Pirro had to cancel a speaking event in Pittsburgh earlier this week because of the death of her mother — but that didn’t stop one group from protesting her appearance.
Fox’s “Judge Jeanine” was slated to give a talk at the St. Barnabas’ Founder’s Day fundraiser on Thursday. Her planned appearance was met with protests from the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), who blasted the judge for comments she made last month questioning Democrat Rep. Ilhan Omar’s patriotism.
Fighting for the underdog
Pirro canceled her Thursday appearance at the fundraising event for the 600-acre retirement community after the passing of her mother, Esther Ferris, earlier that day. In an obituary, Pirro described her mother as her “best friend.”
“She taught me how to fight for the underdog,” Pirro said of her mom, who died of pancreatic cancer. “She was my muse, my hero.”
The Founders’ Day event kicked off at 5:30 p.m. with a cocktail reception. Pirro was expected to speak after dinner at 7:30 p.m.
CAIR organized a boycott of Pirro’s appearance at the fundraiser when it was first announced in March. Their campaign was partly successful, as three of the event’s 10 main co-sponsors — Trib Total Media, Dollar Bank, and UPMC Health Plan — withdrew their support last month. This week, a fourth, CHS Alera Group, was said to follow suit.
That campaign came amid other boycotts of Pirro’s Fox News show last month after she asked during March 9 segment of Justice with Judge Jeanine whether Ilhan Omar’s choice to wear a hijab is “indicative of her adherence to Sharia law.” Fox News condemned Pirro’s remarks and took her off the air for two weeks.
But CAIR’s efforts didn’t shake St. Barnabas. A spokesperson for the community, Jim Lauteri, defended Pirro, saying: “She’s entitled to her opinion.”
Protests continue
Although Pirro did not attend the Thursday fundraiser, planned protests of her speech continued. The president of Pittsburgh’s CAIR chapter, Safdar Khawaja, said that a protest of some 75 people outside the Pittsburgh Marriott North in Cranberry was a victory.
“The message, I believe, has been delivered, and that’s among the best things we can do,” Khwaja said.
CAIR was joined Thursday by nine other religious and community organizations, including the Western Pennsylvania chapter of Veterans for Peace. Protesters assembled with signs that read, “Don’t pretend racism in patriotism,” and, “St. Barnabas, why are you rewarding hate?”
Pittsburgh’s CAIR chapter decided to organize the protest after St. Barnabas Health System refused to meet with Khwaja about Pirro’s appearance.
“We have been very concerned about all the very strong and non-factual propaganda that Jeanine Pirro has been doing on television, slandering the Islamic community,” Khawaja said. “So we gave [St. Barnabas] a chance to hear us out and prevent a protest. But it wouldn’t hear us out.”
It would seem that left-wing protests don’t stop for funerals.
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