Bondi Prompts Broad Backlash After Saying She'll Target 'Hate Speech'

[dalton99a]

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/16/us/politics/pam-bondi-hate-speech-charlie-kirk.html

Bondi Prompts Broad Backlash After Saying She’ll Target ‘Hate Speech’
The attorney general also said she could investigate businesses that refused to print Charlie Kirk vigil posters as the Trump administration pushes to punish anyone who celebrated his killing.
By Glenn Thrush and Alan Feuer
Sept. 16, 2025, 3:07 p.m. ET

Attorney General Pam Bondi provoked a broad backlash this week after announcing she would “absolutely target” protesters engaging in “hate speech” — and claiming she had authority to investigate businesses that refused to print memorial vigil posters for the conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

The comments by Ms. Bondi on Monday appeared to reflect a broader effort by the Trump administration to punish anyone who has celebrated Mr. Kirk’s killing or even people who denounced his killing but continued to criticize his political stances.

Ms. Bondi’s assertion that the Justice Department might seek charges against a business for refusing to serve customers for political reasons could run afoul of a Supreme Court decision that barred state authorities from punishing a Colorado baker for refusing to bake a wedding cake for a same-sex couple.

When Jonathan Karl of ABC News asked Mr. Trump about Ms. Bondi’s hate speech comments, he went after Mr. Karl.

“We’ll probably go after people like you,” Mr. Trump said, “because you treat me so unfairly — it’s hate.”

...

[Jilly_in_VA]

1. Who gets to decide, Blondie?

You? Some algorithm? The orange slime? KashYAP? Faux Noise? Because the tables are gonna turn one day. What goes around comes around.

[jls4561]

2. How long before she says she's never even met the Don-old?

[usonian]

3. ALL of it? She's got an entire administration to investigate

and umpty-ump millions of screaming, hating crazies out there.

Most of FB and Twitter, and a few million "bots"

What "courage" to take them on.

Herself first.


What a complete, crapmatic ...

[moondust]

4. Lock her up.

abuse or threatened abuse of law or legal process

(1) The term “abuse or threatened abuse of law or legal process” means the use or threatened use of a law or legal process, whether administrative, civil, or criminal, in any manner or for any purpose for which the law was not designed, in order to exert pressure on another person to cause that person to take some action or refrain from taking some action.

https://www.law.cornell.edu/definitions/uscode.php?width=840&height=800&iframe=true&def_id=18-USC-1108080733-986701302&term_occur=1&term_src=title:18:part:I:chapter 7:section:1589

[lame54]

5. Criticizing the prez is now hate speech

[Vogon_Glory]

6. I don't see why the Right is so upset

I doubt that Bondi would treat so-called “hate speech” equally. Considering the behavior of the current administration, anyone denouncing immigrants as rapists and murderers will get a free pass, as will anyone who thinks feminists and freethinkers are immoral degenerates who deserve public executions, while someone calling JD whose-doodle or what’s-his-name a poop-head is liable to be hit with a full-note SWAT-style arrest.

[struggle4progress]

7. Shrill outraged noise from Spammy Pam! It's just how the troll rolls!