Attorney General Pam Bondi's statements over prosecuting hate speech in the wake of the Charlie Kirk killing have prompted some conservatives, including Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), to respond and defend Constitutional protections on Tuesday.
It's also prompted Bondi to walk back her initial statements. Bondi appeared on the Katie Miller podcast on Monday, saying the Department of Justice will “absolutely target you, go after you, if you are targeting anyone with hate speech.”
Cruz said Tuesday that her comments were "misconstrued."
“The First Amendment absolutely protects speech,” Cruz said at Politico's AI & Tech Summit on Tuesday in Washington, D.C. “It absolutely protects hate speech. It protects vile speech. It protects horrible speech. What does that mean? It means you cannot be prosecuted for speech, even if it is evil and bigoted and wrong.”
“We have seen, as you noted, across the country, people on the left — not everybody, but far too many people — celebrating Charlie Kirk’s murder,” Cruz said. “We’ve seen teachers in high schools and elementary schools posting online, celebrating. We’ve seen university professors posting. In my view, they should absolutely face the consequences for celebrating murder.”
Cruz praised Kirk, sharing that he had a friendship with the right-wing influencer.
Bondi posted on social media Tuesday, clarifying that "hate speech that crosses the line into threats of violence is NOT protected by the First Amendment."
"It’s a crime," she wrote, continuing to double down on her attack of the "radical left."
"For far too long, we’ve watched the radical left normalize threats, call for assassinations, and cheer on political violence. That era is over," Bondi said.
In another interview later Monday with Fox News' Sean Hannity, she called on employers to fire their employees who have said "horrible things" or criticized Kirk's past rhetoric, NBC News reports.
"It’s free speech, but you shouldn’t be employed anywhere if you’re going to say that. And employers, you have an obligation to get rid of people. You need to look at people who are saying horrible things, and they shouldn’t be working with you," she said.
Some MAGA supporters have called for Bondi to resign.
Several people have been targeted for comments they shared in the aftermath of Kirk's assassination, including educators and journalists.