The network evening newscasts have completely turned themselves over to immigration advocacy, shifting over to a lane often occupied almost exclusively by known immigration advocates Univision and Telemundo. There is no other rational way to explain the blackout, across the legacy dial, of the guilty verdict in the trial of the illegal immigrant charged with killing Maryland mom Rachel Morin.
The egregious omission occurs despite the verdict coming down with plenty of time to spare before the newscasts went on the air. Initial reports of the verdict broke during the 5PM hour. The Baltimore Sun tweeted the verdict at 5:28 in the afternoon, for example:
Victor Antonio Martinez-Hernandez was found guilty Monday of raping and murdering Rachel Morin on the Ma & Pa Heritage Trail in 2023, with the jury taking just over an hour to convict him. Prosecutors tied him to the brutal attack through DNA evidence and digital data. Read more:… pic.twitter.com/gfspIWgurM
— The Baltimore Sun (@baltimoresun) April 14, 2025
Per Just the News:
Morin, a mother of five, was killed while on a hiking trail in Maryland in August of 2023. Authorities arrested Hernandez last year, alleging that he entered the U.S. and continued a crime spree that began in El Salvador.
He has been found guilty on all four counts of first-degree murder, first-degree rape, third-degree sexual offense and kidnapping. He now faces a maximum sentence of life in prison without a chance of parole.
And yet, nothing on ABC, CBS, NBC, Telemundo, or Univision. Each of these networks chose instead to devote prominent A-block time to advocate for fellow Salvadoran illegal immigrant Kilmar Abrego-Garcia, the alleged MS-13 gangbanger who was recently deported and sent to El Salvador’s supermax (known as CECOT).
The networks also devoted a not-insignificant amount of time to gawking over the Blue Orbit launch featuring various celebrities. Here’s a sample from ABC, for example:
THE DUMBEST TIMELINE: ABC couldn't find the time to cover the guilty verdict in the murder of Rachel Morin, lest it bump these galaxy-brained insights from Katy Perry: pic.twitter.com/ntg5uMxxVc
— Jorge Bonilla (@BonillaJL) April 15, 2025
MIREYA VILLAREAL: How are you hoping that this moment affects change for other people, moving forward?
KATY PERRY: I hope they can, um, see the unity, uhm, that we modeled, and replicate that and understand that we weren't just taking up space, we were making space for the future.
Yeah. The networks made space, all right. Why omit the story in the first place? For one thing, it affirms the Trump administration’s decision to send Abrego Garcia to CECOT, judicial meddling notwithstanding. It also makes the media look awful in light of the previous administration’s open border policies. And finally, it avoids comparisons between coverage of the “Maryland Dad” vis-a-vis the “Maryland Mom”, as CNN’s Scott Jennings articulated while blowing the panel up.
.@ScottJennings triggers the panel: "And, you know, we keep calling this guy Maryland Man in the press. Nobody seems to worry about the Maryland mother, Rachel Morin, who was murdered by someone that the previous administration let out of jail. So this is a visceral political-… pic.twitter.com/aT2C2MEG3o
— Jorge Bonilla (@BonillaJL) April 15, 2025
SCOTT JENNINGS: And, you know, we keep calling this guy "Maryland Man" in the press. Nobody seems to worry about the Maryland mother, Rachel Morin, who was murdered by someone that the previous administration let out of jail. So this is a visceral political- this is a visceral political issue. Visceral political issue.
Consider the coverage of Maryland Mom versus Marilyn Dad as trust in the Legacy Media continues to swirl down the toilet.
