Fox News host Megyn Kelly and activist and MSNBC personality Al Sharpton had a heated exchange Wednesday about the Department of Justice's findings in the Michael Brown shooting in Ferguson.
Kelly interviewed Sharpton at his National Action Network event in New York City, and she repeatedly challenged him about his rhetoric about the racially charged case.
Police officer Darren Wilson fatally shot Brown, a black teenager, in 2014 and claimed self-defense. Witnesses claimed that Brown had his hands up and was not a threat to Wilson, but a grand jury did not indict Wilson for any crime, leading to riots and a renewed debate about police conduct toward African Americans.
The Department of Justice investigation ultimately found Wilson did not violate Brown's civil rights, and it also found no evidence to disprove Wilson's belief that his life was in danger that evening.
Sharpton, however, maintained that witnesses told him they saw different, and he had no reason to apologize for his charged language about Wilson's guilt.
"I stated what I believe," Sharpton said. "I'm an opinion guy."
But, Kelly said, that opinion had proven to be wrong, and she asked if he bore responsibility for Wilson's current low circumstances, given the notoriety he's faced since the shooting.
"You don't talk to all the witnesses," Kelly said. "The DOJ does. They get people in there, and it can be a crime to lie to an FBI agent. It's not a crime to lie to Reverend Al."
Sharpton told Kelly to "calm down." Kelly bristled.
"Watch it with 'calm down,'" Kelly said. "Ask Bill O'Reilly about that. I had to lecture him on that one himself."
The two continued to have a back-and-forth, with Sharpton maintaining he had nothing to be sorry about. Kelly asked him if he ever went on his show, PoliticsNation, and corrected the record.
"I reported what the DOJ said," Sharpton said.
"About the death of Michael Brown?" Kelly said.
"I don't know that I stated the line you want, but you didn't see me out there protesting afterward, did you?" Sharpton asked.
When Kelly said nothing, Sharpton seized the microphone and stuck it in Kelly's face.
"Did you?" he repeated.
Kelly laughed and said that was a good place to wrap the interview.