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Here's what Tucker Carlson REALLY said: Fake edit óf host's comments on Eliza Fletcher death splits internet

The 34-year-old elementary school teacher was kidnapped by Cleotha Abston on September 2 while she was out for an early morning jog

MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE: Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson unwittingly caused a stir on social media after a misleading clip of his segment on the tragic abduction and murder of Eliza Fletcher was posted on social media.

The 34-year-old elementary school teacher was allegedly kidnapped by Cleotha Abston early Friday morning, September 2, while she was out for an early morning jog. Her disappearance sparked a four-day search effort that led officers to a number of wooded areas across Memphis. Days later, on Monday, September 5, her remains were discovered in an unoccupied duplex apartment about a hundred yards from the Longview Gardens apartment complex where Abston's brother Mario lives. 

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Carlson, 53, chimed in on the case during an episode of his eponymous Fox News show 'Tucker Carlson Tonight'. He commented on the rise of violent crime in America and how people had come to accept the status quo as simply "how things work in this country." A clip from Carlson's segment was shared by the American Firebrand PAC Twitter account on Wednesday, September 7, writing, "Tucker on the murder of Eliza Fletcher: 'Everyone knows the rules. Eliza Fletcher violated those rules. You can't go outside at certain hours in certain places in America. And if you do, you run the risk of being raped and murdered. That's how things work in this country."  

The clip was seemingly edited without context and some viewers appeared to take Carlson's sarcastic comments seriously. "By this logic women in Memphis can’t even leave their homes. You’re at risk in broad daylight. The time doesn’t matter. Hell people will break into your home too IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DAY. idk how you can blame a victim for living their life…" one tweeted.

"Don't try to speak for me, Tucker Carlson. I don't agree. Not at all! Your male chauvinistic comments against ALL women are as evil as the murderers who thought it was ok to kill her. Ban this level of thinking! We are going to ban you too!" another fumed. "Once again this MFer giving men permission to do things to women when they “break the rules” What a POS you are @TuckerCarlson," someone else added.

There were a few who appeared to agree with Carlson's truncated commentary, saying it was the harsh truth. "Sadly I live in rural Indiana, & I still wouldn't be out alone at 4 am. I remember as a kid not feeling this way, but times have definitely changed, even the country is a scary place after dark," one wrote. "Unfortunately, if you’re alone outside at 4 am, you are putting yourself in danger. That’s just the facts and there’s no way in hell my wife would be out jogging by herself at that time without me and I would be armed," another added.

Carlson's full segment on the case, however, saw him rail against the new normal of violent crime that must be rejected across the nation. The Post Millennial later shared a full, unedited clip of the segment, writing, "Tucker Carlson talks about the abduction and death of Eliza Fletcher: 'We should never accept this under any circumstances ... Our entire country will be Memphis if we don't put a stop to this insanity right now with as much force as is required.'"

American Firebrand PAC received some backlash for the misleading post. "Your tweet gives the impression he was expressing his opinion....he wasn't. He was expressing what some of the reaction to this case has been. The victim blaming," one tweeted.

"MISLEADING! Tucker is being sarcastic here. This is an edited clip and doesn’t show the whole picture. In reality, he was pointing out that people are blaming the victim but they should not be," another insisted.

"Obviously Tucker is being Sarcastic, in no way was this her fault,"  yet another added.

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Suspect Abston was originally charged with especially aggravated kidnapping and tampering with evidence following Fletcher's disappearance on September 2. Investigators obtained footage of the vehicle used in the kidnapping in the same area 24 minutes before the tragic mother-of-two was forced into the vehicle at 4.20 am in Memphis.

Police said they obtained surveillance footage, which is yet to be released, showing a man running "aggressively" towards Fletcher and forcing her into the passenger side of the vehicle. After a brief struggle, the car sat in the parking lot for four minutes and then drove off to an unknown location. Additional charges of first-degree murder and first-degree murder in perpetration of kidnapping were brought against Abston on Tuesday, September 6.