Donald Trump ramped up his fear-mongering over immigration on Friday morning by suggesting Muslims are crossing the border between Mexico and the U.S. and leaving behind their prayer rugs.

Trump cited a questionable story from the Washington Examiner, which interviewed a rancher on the border who requested anonymity to claim that people have found Islamic prayer rugs on their property.

Trump tweeted, “Border rancher: “We’ve found prayer rugs out here. It’s unreal.” Washington Examiner People coming across the Southern Border from many countries, some of which would be a big surprise.”

Border rancher: “We’ve found prayer rugs out here. It’s unreal.” Washington Examiner People coming across the Southern Border from many countries, some of which would be a big surprise.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 18, 2019

The anonymous rancher doesn’t provide any evidence whatsoever, but claims that in the last 6 months, the nationalities of detained border crossers included “Chinese, Germans, Russians, a lot of Middle Easterners, and those Czechoslovakians,” not just people from Mexico and Central America. Czechoslovakia, it should be noted, is a country that has not existed since 1992.

“There’s a lot of people coming in not just from Mexico,” the rancher said. “People, the general public, just don’t get the terrorist threats of that. That’s what’s really scary. You don’t know what’s coming across. We’ve found prayer rugs out here. It’s unreal. It’s not just Mexican nationals that are coming across.”

Trump was immediately blasted for tweeting something with ZERO EVIDENCE:

A classic of the racist genre.

1. What’s wrong with prayer rugs?

2. Who would lug a prayer rug across the Atlantic, up through South America, into and across Mexico, only then to ditch it in Texas? https://t.co/5j8jL1SaAK

— Sam Stein (@samstein) January 18, 2019

Prayer rugs. Because that's what zealously religious terrorist will leave behind. https://t.co/V6E06UVmoa

— rabia O'chaudry (@rabiasquared) January 18, 2019

It get's SCARIER: The rancher also claimed to have seen Aladdin and Sinbad in the area. https://t.co/JASb2ltNo4

— (((DeanObeidallah))) (@DeanObeidallah) January 18, 2019

Really? Prayer rugs. You found actual prayer rugs "out there" <gestures vaguely towards Mexico>.

You being an expert on Muslim practices and all, please explain why members of that faith, who are supposedly sneaking into America, would leave religious items just laying around? https://t.co/m68DCSpbuZ

— Stonekettle (@Stonekettle) January 18, 2019

In case of emergency, try to shift the topic of conversation with a mix of falsehood and fear-mongering bias… https://t.co/NV3hz7HAxY

— Peter W. Singer (@peterwsinger) January 18, 2019

"Sir, those are bath towels." https://t.co/MFeM4c9wOD

— J.D. Durkin (@jiveDurkey) January 18, 2019

I heard this same bizarre claim spread over a decade ago when I infiltrated a meeting of fringe far-right anti-immigrant activists. They are desperate to connect anti-Muslim racism to then broader nativist movement. https://t.co/duLISuFR1r

— Tina Lee (@tinaleeinberlin) January 18, 2019

These are not prayer rugs, they are flying carpets and they can fly over walls. https://t.co/cxcGLryPxK

— Karl Sharro (@KarlreMarks) January 18, 2019