Pam Bondi Draws Bipartisan Criticism Over Hate Speech Remarks

Attorney General Pam Bondi is facing bipartisan criticism for her comments about hate speech following Charlie Kirk’s assassination. 

Bondi’s Comments: Speaking on the Katie Miller podcast, Bondi said, “There's free speech and then there's hate speech” and “We will absolutely target you, go after you, if you are targeting anyone with hate speech.” She followed up with a post on X saying, “Hate speech that crosses the line into threats of violence is NOT protected by the First Amendment. It’s a crime,” and blamed the “radical left” for “normalizing” threats and celebrating political violence.

Common Ground: News outlets and political commentators across the political spectrum stressed that "hate speech" is protected under the First Amendment, with some citing Kirk’s own defense of free speech.

From the Right: Wall Street Journal Editorial Board (Lean Right bias) said, “Is a basic understanding of the First Amendment too much to expect from the nation’s Attorney General?” The Board highlighted Kirk’s own comments about free speech, including his criticism of censorship in Britain. It also quoted Kirk saying,"My position is that even hate speech should be completely and totally allowed in our country.” House Speaker Mike Johnson (Right) told reporters, “In America, it’s a very important part of our tradition that we do not — this is a conservative principle and certainly an American principle — we do not censor and silence disfavored viewpoints.” An opinion from Charles C. W. Cooke (Right) in the National Review (Right) criticized Bondi’s remarks as misrepresenting First Amendment law, and noted her claims on both “hate speech” and employer obligations were legally false.

From the Left: An opinion in The Atlantic (Left) said Bondi “publicly misrepresented long-standing American speech law…especially in the context of threats made by other Trump-administration officials, their allies, and President Donald Trump himself to target ‘left-wing’ organizations that the administration says promote violence.” MSNBC (Left) reporter Jordan Rubin (Left) wrote, “Does Attorney General Pam Bondi misunderstand the law, or does she want Donald Trump’s supporters to misunderstand the law?” Rubin also said if Bondi was wrong about this, then what else might she be wrong about?

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