Attorney General Pam Bondi on Tuesday sought to clarify remarks she made on a podcast suggesting the federal government would "target" people who use "hate speech" against others, saying her comments referred specifically to language that crosses into threats of violence.
"Hate speech that crosses the line into threats of violence is NOT protected by the First Amendment. It’s a crime," Bondi wrote on X. "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's clarification followed a Monday interview on a podcast hosted by Katie Miller, wife of White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, in which the attorney general said the Justice Department would "absolutely target you, go after you, if you are targeting anyone with hate speech," and tied the remark to the recent assassination of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk.
Her comments prompted criticism from across the political spectrum, with critics arguing there is no distinct "hate speech" exception to the First Amendment. Conservative commentator Erick Erickson called Bondi a "moron" on social media and wrote, "No ma’am. That is not the law." Veteran journalist Brit Hume said while hate speech may be "repulsive," it is generally protected under the Constitution.
Others on the right also criticized Bondi. Conservative commentator Maggie Moda said Bondi sounded like "every constitutionally illiterate liberal you’ve debated over the past ten years." Former Trump administration adviser Steve Cortes described the remarks as inconsistent with Kirk's stated views and called for Bondi to be fired.
Commentators on the left and civil-liberties observers also weighed in. Cenk Uygur, founder of The Young Turks, said conservatives had been "principled" in pushing back. Journalist Glenn Greenwald called Bondi's formulation a "noxious claim" and warned it could underpin broader censorship.
On MSNBC's "Morning Joe" on Tuesday, co-host Willie Geist read several social media posts criticizing Bondi and highlighted a 2024 tweet from Charlie Kirk in which he wrote, "Hate speech does not exist legally in America. There's ugly speech. There's gross speech. There's evil speech. And ALL of it is protected by the First Amendment. Keep America free." The assassination of Kirk has prompted renewed debate about rhetoric and violence in U.S. political discourse.
The department did not immediately comment on Bondi's podcast remarks; Fox News Digital reported it had reached out to the Justice Department for comment. Legal experts note that while the First Amendment protects a wide range of speech, it has long recognized narrow limits on speech directly inciting imminent lawless action or true threats—categories that are evaluated under established Supreme Court precedents.
Bondi, a former Florida attorney general, has in recent months emphasized a focus on political violence and threats directed at public figures. Her clarification narrowed the scope of her remarks to threats of violence rather than broader, nonviolent expressions of hatred, a distinction that legal scholars and commentators say remains central to debates about free speech and public safety.