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

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

It is not clear under what authority Bondi planned to bring “hate speech” cases when the First Amendment provides sweeping protections for free speech that does not directly incite violence. She seemed to back away from a broad interpretation

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