Less than a day after suggesting she’d sic the Department of Justice on people for their unsavory takes on Charlie Kirk’s death, Attorney General Pam Bondi said she’d “never impede” upon Americans’ right to free speech.
Bondi faced near-instant backlash after saying her department was looking to prosecute people for “hate speech” following the intense and polarized public response to conservative activist Kirk’s murder.
Her apparent willingness to disregard the First Amendment left some of President Donald Trump’s staunchest allies up in arms.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) told Politico that no matter how “evil and bigoted and wrong” words may be, they cannot be criminalized, while Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-La.) told the press it was un-American to “censor and silence disfavored viewpoints.”
Some of the loudest voices in the far-right media ecosystem also weighed in.
