This morning in Washington, DC, at the Ritz Carlton Hotel, there was a rally held to protest the insurance companies and lobbyists responsible for abusive increases in insurance rates and opposition to health care reform. America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), an industry lobbying organization, were meeting at the Ritz.

The rally actually got a little coverage on Fox News. Megyn Kelly’s program showed live streaming video of the health care protest with reporting from Jake Gibson. Suffice it to say that it was something less than fair and balanced.

During the segment Kelly and Gibson made suggestions that the crowd was potentially violent. They talked about arrests and worried aloud about what was going to happen when the health care executives and lobbyists meeting inside the hotel came out. The chyron said

“Police Concerned Protesters Might Storm Ritz Carlton in D.C.”

Of course there was no evidence presented that the police had any such concern and there was no interview with the police. There also were no arrests, contrary to Gibson’s reporting. The protest ended without incident and Kelly failed to note that no storming of the hotel took place.

This is typical of the blatant bias exhibited by Fox News. During months of protests at town hall meetings where Tea Baggers were overtly hostile, loud, rude, and aggressive, Fox News never insinuated that they presented any sort of threat whatsoever. That was true despite their signs that promised they would “come armed next time.” And some were even observed carrying guns.

However, when a couple of thousand people gather peacefully to advocate on behalf of humane health care policies, Fox portrays them as thugs who are preparing to storm the defenseless executives and lobbyists who are just trying to have a quiet meeting in a luxurious hotel.

Fair and balanced? You decide.