Pam Bondi torched for launching campaign against 'hate speech' on behalf of Charlie Kirk

Attorney General Pam Bondi is under fire Tuesday after pledging to “absolutely target” Americans engaging in “hate speech” in the wake of the killing of right-wing influencer Charlie Kirk.

Speaking on the “Katie Miller Podcast” Monday, Bondi spoke to the online rhetoric following Kirk’s killing, much of it critical of Kirk’s past controversial statements, and pledged to launch a campaign against those who engaged in “hate speech.”

“There's free speech, and then there's hate speech,” Bondi said. “And there is no place, especially now, especially after what happened to Charlie, in our society. We will absolutely target you, go after you, if you are targeting anyone with hate speech."

Critics were quick to point out, however, that Bondi’s position was directly contradictory to that of Kirk’s, who in 2024 wrote that “hate speech does not exist legally in America,” and that “all of it is protected by the First Amendment.”

“Like with the Epstein files, Pam Bondi is disrespecting Trump supporters' intelligence,” wrote Andrew Bates, former White House official under President Joe Biden, in an online post on X Tuesday to his nearly 49,000 followers.

“Charlie Kirk was murdered for using his free speech rights. Exploiting his death to take those rights away is discrediting. So is dividing the country in an attempt to hide incompetence.”

In an apparent attempt to clarify her comments, Bondi took to X Tuesday morning to quote United States law that prohibits speech that incites violence. Critics, however, refused to allow Bondi’s initial comments suggesting the DOJ would target “hate speech,” and not simply speech inciting violence, go unchecked.

“Leave it to Pam Bondi to honor Charlie Kirk's memory by going against what he believed in,” wrote X user “Axiomatic Enemy of the State,” a frequent critic of the Trump administration who’s followed by Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) and has amassed more than 37,000 followers. “This woman is a complete f------ train wreck.”

Bondi’s comments saw critiques from those across the political spectrum, including from prominent conservatives such as actor Rob Schneider, known primarily for his roles in movies produced by and starring Adam Sandler, but also for his conservative beliefs and anti-vaccine rhetoric.

“Pam Bondi is WRONG on this one,” Schneider wrote on X to his more than 2.2 million followers. “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!”