What did Pam Bondi say about hate speech after Charlie Kirk's death? Attorney General's podcast interview causes uproar on the internet

On September 15, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi appeared on The Katie Miller Podcast and reacted to hate speech after Charlie Kirk's assassination. This statement did not sit right with several MAGA supporters and Republicans. For the unversed, this also went against Kirk's beliefs, according to which, there was nothing like "hate speech."

During the podcast, Bondi spoke about the concept of free speech. She said,

"There's free speech and then there's hate speech, and there is no place, especially now, especially after what happened to Charlie, in our society."

She added that the people who target someone with hate speech will be targeted by the authorities as well. This statement caused massive uproar on social media, where people seemingly criticized Pam Bondi.

One user wrote on X,

"Such a statement from the US AG is an embarrassment."

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"I didn't catch where she said this, but if she did, I agree. She must be fired, wrote a netizen.

"The US AG not supporting and stating she will defy the US constitution," tweeted a netizen.

The social media platform has been flooded with a lot of other comments calling out the attorney general. A user commented,

"Charlie would have stood for none of what Pam has said here... This is incredibly disappointing to hear."

"No @PamBondi this is not ok. This is a betrayal of @charliekirk11's legacy. Stop," added a tweet.

"Hate speech is legal. It sucks but it's legal. Death threats, promises of harm, and calls for harm are a different thing," wrote another user.

Pam Bondi had issued a statement later amid the criticism and scrutiny online

On September 16, a day after the podcast episode was dropped, Pam Bondi uploaded a tweet in which she addressed the massive criticism. In the tweet, Bondi clarified that what she meant by "hate speech" in her interview was the one that involved "threats of violence." She wrote,

"Hate speech that crosses the line into threats of violence is NOT protected by the First Amendment. 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."

By the end of the long tweet, the attorney general stated that free speech protected new ideas and spaces for debates, but not violence. She further claimed that violent threats had been designed particularly to stop people from spreading a conservative mindset. Many reacted to this post by Bondi and claimed that she should stop using the phrase "hate speech" and instead describe such acts as "crimes."

Political strategist Alyssa Farah Griffin also shared her take on the situation and the remarks made by Pam Bondi. Griffin, who found the remarks "very concerning" believed that they went against the legacy of Charlie Kirk. Journalist Sarah Haines, too, was of a similar point of view.

Haines even cited a tweet posted by Kirk in the past, where he wrote,

"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."

No further reaction has been obtained on the situation by the attorney general as of now.