Fox News is taking extra precautions to protect the networkâs holiday Christmas tree outside the cable news channelâs midtown Manhattan headquarters.
The tree was lit in a televised ceremony on Monday. Greg Gutfeld, Judge Jeanine Pirro, Dana Perino, Jessica Tarlov and Jesse Watters were on hand to inaugurate the Christmas tradition, according to the New York Post.
The Fox Christmas tree was badly burned in an act of arson last year.
Gutfeld alluded to the burning of the tree during the lighting ceremony, pledging to light up this yearâs tree ânot in a bad way,â according to the Post.
A homeless man allegedly scaled the metal structure of the tree last year, succeeding in setting a fire that totally destroyed the structure.
The transient left a New York City jail just hours after the attack on the Christmas spirit, in part thanks to New Yorkâs progressive âbail reformâ law.
Personnel of New York Cityâs Fire Department and the NYPD were given the honor of officially lighting this yearâs tree in thanks for their efforts responding to the blaze of last yearâs Christmas tree.
The law enforcement officers hailed the memories of several of their colleagues who had died in the past year in the lighting ceremony.
Fox News personalities such as Sean Hannity, Kellyanne Conway, Peter Doocy and CEO Suzanne Scott also appeared at the ceremony unveiling the Christmas tree, according to the Post.
The annual tree in Fox Square has long been a public expression of the Christmas spirit in Midtown Manhattan.
Fox has taken precautions to prevent a similar act of arson from destroying the Christmas tree.
This yearâs tree is constructed with the use of a âfireproof metal,â according to Fox insiders cited by the Post.
âThe Fiveâ anchor Dana Perino said that the Fox community wouldnât be robbed of their Christmas spirit â even if this yearâs tree were to again become the target of an act of arson.
âWe will try to do everything we can to make sure that nothing happens to it,â Perino said of the possibility.
âBut I know that if that were to happen again, we would rally just like we did last year,â Perino said.
âWithin 48 hoursâŠ..we had the tree re-upped,â she said of the replacement for the 2021 tree.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
