Sean Hannity viewed the Justice Department’s likely decision not to press civil rights charges against Ferguson police office Darren Wilson as an opportunity to double down on race baiting his usual targets. And suggest that the unarmed Michael Brown deserved to have been shot dead.

Only on Fox News would a decision not to proceed with a civil rights prosecution be an occasion to play the white victim. But Hannity grabbed hold of the opportunity with relish, as Bill O’Reilly did earlier.

Like O’Reilly, Hannity exploited the moment to suggest that a lack of civil rights violations somehow proved that Wilson had been justified in shooting Brown and that there had been nothing to protest in Ferguson to begin with. Even though the civil rights investigation was a different issue than Wilson’s potential criminal culpability.  From The New York Times:

To bring federal civil rights charges, the Justice Department would have needed to prove that Officer Wilson had intended to violate Mr. Brown’s rights when he opened fire, and that he had done so willfully — meaning he knew that it was wrong to fire but did so anyway.

But Hannity – who has yet to apologize for his own promotion of the false “Muslim no-go zones” meme – didn’t seem to care.

“So will President Obama, Eric Holder, Al Sharpton and others apologize – not ony to Darren Wilson, but to Ferguson in general and the country?” Hannity rhetorically “asked.”

As Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton tried to explain to Hannity last month, the particulars of the Michael Brown shooting matter far less than the greater issue of the relationship between black men and the police. But just like Hannity refused to listen to Norton, he ignored that issue now. His only interest seemed to be grandstanding against his usual foes – and using toxic, race-baiting insinuations while he was at it.

Hannity complained that the White House sent three representatives to the funeral “of a guy that potentially was a cop killer – wannabe – who robbed a store and intimidated a clerk, charged a cop, tried to fight a copy for his gun – and then Al Sharpton rushes to judgment. And Eric Holder rushes to judgment. Doesn’t all of this now in retrospect say a lot about these three men? …They were out there fueling the fire," Hannity attacked.

As if Hannity doesn’t fuel the fire of racism and/or hate every night on Fox.

Hannity continued, “Michael Brown, as it turns out, was a thug” who didn’t deserve “three White House representatives at his funeral.” Hannity didn't say what he thought of all the protesters who felt otherwise.

Hannity’s guest was the Brown family attorney, Daryl Parks. He argued that the Obama administration’s interest in the case was a reflection “of the experience that we have as African American men in this country.” Parks added, “You can’t relate to that experience.”

No, and Hannity didn’t care. “But the president rushed to judgment!” Hannity shouted.

And that’s where Parks, in my opinion, should have nailed Hannity: for his lack of interest in what Parks was saying about the African American experience, for his exploitation of the Brown case to race bait President Obama (and the #BlackLivesMatter protesters) and for his own racist hypocrisy in “rushing to judgment” on behalf of Cliven Bundy. 

It’s one thing to protest the killing of an unarmed citizen by the police (which is indisputable in the Brown case) and it’s quite another to promote armed insurrection against the federal government on behalf of a scofflaw rancher who – oh, by the way – turned out to be a white racist. Instead of apologizing for championing Bundy, Hannity played the victim.

Hannity said arrogantly, “There’s a lesson to be learned here. Don’t rob a store, don’t intimidate a clerk, don’t fight cops for their guns and don’t charge at cops.”

That is, unless you’re a white rancher.

Watch it below, from last night’s Hannity.