Featured Image Credit: Fox News
Topics: Politics, US News, Charlie Kirk
Jen Thomas
The assassination of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk has sparked a huge debate on free speech in the US, with Attorney General Pam Bondi making her stance on the subject clear as she issued a warning to employees.
The 31-year-old was shot dead while speaking at Utah Valley University last week, and 22-year-old Tyler Robinson was arrested 33 hours later on suspicion of Kirk's murder.
Since then, a large vigil took place over the weekend, and other supporters have wanted to pay their respects to the Turning Point USA co-founder, who was an ally of President Donald Trump.
Now, Bondi has spoken out with a statement that has shocked many people.
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While being interviewed on Fox News, Bondi had some stern words for anyone who was thinking of not supporting vigils or people wanting to commemorate Kirk.
Fox News host Sean Hannity had asked Bondi about free speech and the First Amendment.
She warned: "Businesses cannot discriminate. 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."
Bondi threatened: "We can prosecute you for that. I have Harmeet Dhillon right now in our civil rights unit looking at that immediately."
"Employers, you have an obligation to get rid of people. You need to look at people who are saying horrible things, they shouldn't be working with you," she continued.
It comes off the back of the news that Office Depot fired an employee in Michigan after a video was shared online.
The footage appeared to show a member of staff refusing to print the posters, telling a customer: “We don’t print propaganda, it’s propaganda."
Office Depot says the former employee in question had breached company policy, writing a statement on Twitter.
“Upon learning of the incident, we immediately reached out to the customer to address their concerns and seek to fulfil their order to their satisfaction," the company wrote.
"We have also launched an immediate internal review and, as a result, the associate involved is no longer with the organisation."
Bondi's comments come days after a website was set up threatening to reveal the personal information and pictures of anyone who had 'celebrated' the death of the political speaker, which has since been removed.
Contrary to what Bondi claimed, there is a constitutional right for companies to refuse service to anyone as long as it’s for non-discriminatory reasons.
Journalist Jemele Hill wrote on social media, claiming there was hypocrisy at play: “[Bondi] must have also forgot that the Supreme Court recently ruled that you don’t have to serve gay customers if it conflicts with your religious beliefs."
Meanwhile, another social media user pointed out a 2018 case in Colorado where a bakery refused to make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple, and the US Supreme Court sided with the baker.
“Yet a baker can deny baking a cake if they have right-wing ideology,” they wrote.