Pam Bondi Sparks On-Air Storm With Controversial Comment — Broadcast Moment Draws Swift Backlash
The segment was routine — until it wasn’t. One line, delivered live, flipped the tone and sent viewers scrambling to replay what they’d just heard, while producers scrambled to contain the fallout
Attorney General Pam Bondi is under fire by the right for vowing to ‘target hate speech’ following the assassination of Charlie Kirk.
Kirk, an ardent supporter of free speech who advocated against European hate speech laws, was assassinated last week while speaking to college students at Utah Valley University.
A suspect, Tyler Robinson, was arrested and will face charges for murdering Kirk later on Tuesday.
Bondi joined former White House official Katie Miller earlier this week for an interview, where she pledged to prosecute ‘hate speech’ violators no matter their political persuasion.
‘There’s free speech and then there’s hate speech, and there is no place, especially now, especially after what happened to Charlie, in our society,’ said Bondi.
‘We will absolutely target you, go after you if you are targeting anyone with hate speech, anything, and that’s across the aisle.’
Conservatives pounced on Bondi’s comments with some referring to the attorney general as ‘a moron.’
‘Our Attorney General is apparently a moron,’ wrote Erick Erickson on X. ‘There’s free speech and then there is hate speech.’ No ma’am. That is not the law.’
+Attorney General Pam Bondi advocated for hate speech laws following Charlie Kirk’s murder
Many on the right were quick to slam Bondi for not understanding hate speech is protected by the First Amendment
Charlie Kirk advocated against hate speech and restrictions on freedom of speech throughout his career in politics.
Meanwhile, Fox News chief political analyst Brit Hume slammed Bondi for not aware that hate speech is protected in the Bill of Rights.
‘Someone needs to explain to Ms. Bondi that so-called ‘hate speech,’ repulsive though it may be, is protected by the First Amendment. She should know this,’ Hume wrote.
‘Pam Bondi is WRONG on this one,’ added Hollywood conservative actor Rob Schneider.
‘If FREE SPEECH means anything it’s the freedom to say things that OTHER people may LOATHE! Outside of the incitement to violence, FREE SPEECH IS ALL SPEECH! You are either for ALL of it or NONE of it!’
Other right-wing accounts such as ‘Red Eagle Politics’ suggested that Bondi is no longer qualified to hold her position as head of Trump’s Department of Justice.
‘There is no such thing as hate speech,’ Red Eagle Politics wrote on X.
‘We can punish violent threats and demonic leftist groups without using their woke terminology. Bondi has overstayed her welcome.’
Other critics pointed out that Kirk had advocated against hate speech laws in America last year on social media.
Kirk was slain last week after being shot in the throat at Utah Valley University
‘Hate speech does not exist legally in America,’ Kirk wrote in May 2024. ‘There’s ugly speech. There’s gross speech. There’s evil speech. And ALL of it is protected by the First Amendment.’
Over the last week, employees at a variety of industries, including academia, have been fired or placed on leave for celebrating the murder of Kirk, according to CBS News.
Moreover, Republican lawmakers, including Reps. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida, Lauren Boebert, and Clay Higgins, have demanded that the social media platforms remove some videos of and comments about Kirk’s assassination.
‘I am calling on [Musk, Zuckerberg and TikTok] to remove the horrifying videos of Charlie Kirk’s murder,’ Luna wrote on X.
Calls for censorship from GOP leaders stands in stark contrast to Kirk’s long-held belief in the freedom of speech.
Meanwhile, Bondi defended her comments by writing on X, ‘Hate speech that crosses the line into threats of violence is NOT protected by the First Amendment. It’s a crime. For far too long, we’ve watched the radical left normalize threats, call for assassinations, and cheer on political violence. That era is over.’