WASHINGTON – Conservative podcaster Tucker Carlson warned the Trump administration that it was stepping on free-speech rights as it sought to silence critics of activist Charlie Kirk after his assassination in Utah.
“You hope that a year from now, the turmoil we're seeing in the aftermath of his murder won't be leveraged to bring hate speech laws to this country,” the former Fox News TV host said during a special edition of his podcast on Sept. 17.
Carlson’s remarks echoed concerns raised by other conservatives over efforts to shut down and seek retribution against those who have mocked Kirk’s death or have been openly critical of his hardline political views.
In Tampa, Florida, radio host Ryan Gorman said Brendan Carr, the chair of the Federal Communications Commission, went too far when he threatened retaliatory action against ABC if it did not punish late-night host Jimmy Kimmel over his remarks about the Republican response to Kirk’s death. ABC responded by pulling Kimmel’s show off the air indefinitely.
“I see a million ways this could go bad down the road,” Gorman said. “This is not a good step here. The FCC chairman is in way too far with how he’s trying to control things and get different companies to bend to the Trump administration’s will. You do not want government having that kind of power.”
