Pam Bondi is probably going to have to walk this statement back. The First Amendment actually protects hate speech, provided that no threat of physical violence was made against a specific individual. We already have laws against criminal threats, so there’s no need to conflate that with hate speech. You might not like someone’s advocacy of political violence or even assassination, but as long as no identifiable individual was mentioned, you can’t be prosecuted for it. At least not in the United States. And we’re all well aware of what happens in other nations when hate speech becomes a criminal offense all on its own.
“Hate speech that crosses the line into threats of violence is NOT protected by the First Amendment,” Bondi wrote. “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.”
Another less than encouraging comment from Bondi, this time over a business that did not want to print some posters for a vigil held to honor Charlie Kirk.
“Businesses cannot discriminate. If you wanna go in and print posters with Charlie’s pictures on them for a vigil, you have to let them do that. We can prosecute you for that,” Bondi said during a Monday appearance on Fox News’ “Hannity.”