Charlie Kirk Was Right When He Told Me Free Speech Also Means Hearing What We Don't Want To Hear | Tomi Lahren

AG Pam Bondi has since clarified that hate speech that doesn’t rise to the level of a violent threat will not be treated in that manner, and I’m thankful she made that clear. 

Because like many of you, my fellow free speech absolutists, that declaration to go after speech - even if it is nasty and hateful and abhorrent - made me uneasy. 

In the wake of Charlie Kirk’s assassination, we’ve seen and heard some pretty disgusting things and while these hateful and perhaps even EVIL folks will need to face the repercussions of that speech in their personal and professional lives, I don’t believe our government can or should start prosecuting or targeting it. 

And in fact, I don’t think Charlie would want that either. 

The bedrock of his mission was free speech, free speech over everything.

He believed, like I believe, that being exposed to ALL kinds of speech - even the really ugly stuff - is an opportunity for growth.

Conservative political activist Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point Action, speaks during a meeting on the campus of the University of Arizona in Tucson on October 17, 2024. (Photo by Olivier Touron / AFP) (Photo by OLIVIER TOURON/AFP via Getty Images)

I don’t believe in censorship and I don’t believe in policing free speech. 

Now, there are caveats to that, of course. Those of us who have even a baseline understanding of the First amendment know and recognize that. 

The line is sometimes blurry and perhaps, that’s how our framers intended it to be. 

Credible threats of violence are not protected. The incitement of violence is not protected and if you’re a foreign national seeking to study or reside here, all bets are off. We can screen the crap out of your speech and decide whether you belong in American society. 

BUT as vile and repugnant as free speech can get — and it has — I believe it too should be protected.

Charlie once told me something that I’ll never forget, "Free speech isn’t just saying what you want to say, it’s also hearing what you don’t want to hear."

In the name and memory of Charlie, we must defend free speech, even if it’s speech that’s hateful or that we hate. 

And those are my Final Thoughts.