diff --git a/crates/core/src/query/optic.rs b/crates/core/src/query/optic.rs
index 7c7920e3..e51e6907 100644
--- a/crates/core/src/query/optic.rs
+++ b/crates/core/src/query/optic.rs
@@ -1720,6 +1720,20 @@ mod tests {
             .webpages;
         assert_eq!(res.len(), 1);
         assert_eq!(res[0].url, "https://example.com/test");
+
+        let res = searcher
+            .search(&SearchQuery {
+                query: "example".to_string(),
+                optic: Some(
+                    Optic::parse("Rule { Matches { Site(\"|example.com|\") }, Action(Discard) }")
+                        .unwrap(),
+                ),
+                ..Default::default()
+            })
+            .unwrap()
+            .webpages;
+        assert_eq!(res.len(), 1);
+        assert_eq!(res[0].url, "https://another-example.com/");
     }
 
     #[test]
diff --git a/crates/optics/src/lib.rs b/crates/optics/src/lib.rs
index 09bb2d55..d2f7302e 100644
--- a/crates/optics/src/lib.rs
+++ b/crates/optics/src/lib.rs
@@ -77,9 +77,15 @@ impl TryFrom<RawOptic> for Optic {
 
     fn try_from(raw: RawOptic) -> Result<Self> {
         let mut rules = Vec::new();
+        let mut blocked = Vec::new();
 
         for rule in raw.rules {
-            rules.push(Rule::try_from(rule)?);
+            let rule = Rule::try_from(rule)?;
+
+            match rule.as_blocked_site() {
+                Some(site) => blocked.push(site),
+                None => rules.push(rule),
+            }
         }
 
         let mut liked_hosts = Vec::new();
@@ -99,7 +105,7 @@ impl TryFrom<RawOptic> for Optic {
             host_rankings: HostRankings {
                 liked: liked_hosts,
                 disliked: disliked_hosts,
-                blocked: Vec::new(), // blocked hosts are handled by `$discard` syntax.
+                blocked,
             },
         })
     }
@@ -349,6 +355,25 @@ pub struct Rule {
     /// What action to take if the rule matches.
     pub action: Action,
 }
+impl Rule {
+    /// If the rule is on the form `Rule { Matches { Site("|...|") }, Action(Discard) }`, return the site to block.
+    fn as_blocked_site(&self) -> Option<String> {
+        if self.action == Action::Discard {
+            let matching = self.matches.first()?.first()?;
+
+            if matching.location == MatchLocation::Site
+                && matching.pattern.first()? == &PatternPart::Anchor
+                && matching.pattern.get(2)? == &PatternPart::Anchor
+            {
+                if let PatternPart::Raw(site) = matching.pattern.get(1)? {
+                    return Some(site.clone());
+                }
+            }
+        }
+
+        None
+    }
+}
 
 impl Display for Rule {
     fn fmt(&self, f: &mut std::fmt::Formatter<'_>) -> std::fmt::Result {