Deputy Attorney General Says Hate Speech Is Protected Under Constitution

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said on Sept. 16 that hate speech is “of course” protected under the First Amendment after Attorney General Pam Bondi’s podcast remarks drew criticism from prominent conservative X accounts and several Republican lawmakers.

On Sept. 15, Bondi said in an interview with podcaster Katie Miller that her office would look into “hate speech” and suggested such forms of speech would be prosecuted.

In an interview with CNN’s Kaitlan Collins on Sept. 16, Blanche said: “Yes, of course hate speech is covered by the First Amendment, and everybody thinks that. The Republican Party and this administration believes in that more than most, having been subjected to what we’ve been subjected to for the last several years.”

Blanche said that Bondi’s intention in making those remarks was to highlight speech promoting violence, in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s assassination.

“We are targeting violence. When there are individuals who are using words, threatening murder, threatening violence, threatening to harm people, that’s what we’re targeting,” Blanche said.

On Sept. 16, Bondi issued a statement on X clarifying what she said.

“Hate speech that crosses the line into threats of violence is NOT protected by the First Amendment. It’s a crime,” she wrote in a lengthy post 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.”

On numerous occasions throughout its history, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled against claims that hate speech should be prosecuted, including in 2017 when Justice Samuel Alito wrote that criminalizing such speech goes against the First Amendment.

“Speech that demeans on the basis of race, ethnicity, gender, religion, age, disability, or any other similar ground is hateful; but the proudest boast of our free speech jurisprudence is that we protect the freedom to express ‘the thought that we hate,’” Alito wrote in an opinion.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said on Sept. 16, “In America, it’s a very important part of our tradition that we do not … censor and silence disfavored viewpoints.”

In a separate interview with Fox News on Sept. 16, Bondi said the government could prosecute employees who allegedly refused to print posters with Kirk’s face on them.

“Businesses cannot discriminate,” she said. “If you want to go in and print posters with Charlie’s pictures on them for a vigil, you have to let them do that. We can prosecute you for that.”

In response to Bondi’s comments, Conservative talk-radio host Erick Erickson said in a Sept. 16 social media post, “I’m sorry, but this is the sort of leftwing progressivism that conservatives, including Charlie Kirk, abhorred.”

Conservative pundit Matt Walsh said in an X post: “Conservatives have fought for decades for the right to refuse service to anyone. We won that fight.”

Before leaving for the UK on Sept. 16, President Donald Trump told reporters that he has confidence in Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel in the wake of Kirk’s assassination.

“I think that [Bondi] has done an unbelievable job … and [Patel], take a look at what he did … he did it in two days,” Trump told reporters on Sept. 16 outside the White House, referring to the capture of Kirk’s suspected assassin, Tyler Robinson, last week.

Prosecutors in Utah have unveiled charges against Robinson, including aggravated murder, witness tampering, obstruction of justice, and other charges. No attorney has been listed for Robinson yet. A judge on Sept. 16 indicated that the state will appoint one for him.