Bill O'Reilly issues a challenge to Jeff Sessions in the wake of Steinle verdict

Bill O'Reilly challenged Attorney General Jeff Sessions to seek further charges against Jose Garcia Zarate, the illegal immigrant who shot and killed Kate Steinle in 2015. Zarate was found not guilty of murder by a jury Thursday.

What did O'Reilly say?

The former Fox News host excoriated the verdict by the San Francisco jury in a series of tweets Thursday and said that Sessions was facing a "litmus test" over his next steps.

"Kate Steinle’s killer found not guilty of murder," O'Reilly wrote. "Not since OJ Simpson has this kind of verdict been dropped. At the very least manslaughter — he had a stolen gun! Awful."

O'Reilly also referred to the jury's failure to find Steinle's killer guilty of even involuntary manslaughter, a far lesser charge than that of second-degree murder that the prosecution was seeking.

"Prayers for the Steinle family," O'Reilly continued. "Feds should immediately charge the thug with a variety of immigration crimes. What’s happening to America?"

"It is now on Attorney General Sessions to charge Kate Steinle’s killer with serious immigration violations," he concluded. "This is a litmus test for Mr. Sessions."

Will Sessions press other charges against Steinle's killer?

ABC News reported Thursday after the verdict that the Department of Justice intends to seek other charges against Jose Garcia Zarate.

However, Sessions gave no hint of such an intention in his scathing statement released in response to the verdict.

“The Department of Justice will continue to ensure that all jurisdictions place the safety and security of their communities above the convenience of criminal aliens,” Sessions said.

“I urge the leaders of the nation’s communities to reflect on the outcome of this case and consider carefully the harm they are doing to their citizens by refusing to cooperate with federal law enforcement officers,” the attorney general added.