Tucker Carlson Warns of Trump Administration Spinning Charlie Kirk’s Death to Target Free Speech

Tucker Carlson is warning Americans about President Donald Trump’s administration and its reaction to Charlie Kirk’s assassination, saying it could affect free speech.

On the Sept. 16 episode of Tucker Carlson LIVE, Carlson told viewers to hold leaders accountable if Kirk’s death is used to restrict speech. He mentioned that people across the country have already faced consequences for criticizing Kirk’s work.

“You hope Charlie Kirk’s death won’t be used by a group we now call bad actors to create a society that was the opposite of the one he worked to build,” Carlson, 56, said, referring to Kirk’s efforts to engage with different viewpoints.

He added, “You hope that a year from now, the turmoil we’re seeing after this murder won’t be used to bring hate speech laws to this country. And if it does, there is never a more justified moment for civil disobedience than that.”

Carlson also said, “Because if they can tell you what to say, and they’re telling you what to think, there is nothing they can’t do to you, because they don’t consider you human.”

Carlson’s warning came days after Kirk, 31, a conservative activist, was fatally shot at a Utah college during his American Comeback tour.

In response, Trump-appointed Attorney General Pam Bondi said the Justice Department would “absolutely target” anyone who engages in “hate speech,” a move many saw as a threat to those who oppose the administration.

A 2024 social media post from Kirk began circulating after Bondi’s comments. He wrote, “Hate speech does not exist legally in America. There’s ugly speech. There’s gross speech. There’s evil speech. And ALL of it is protected by the First Amendment. Keep America free.”

One day after Carlson’s warning, longtime TV host Jimmy Kimmel was “indefinitely” pulled from the air by ABC. This followed a statement from Nexstar, the largest TV station owner in the U.S., saying it would not air Jimmy Kimmel Live! on its stations because it disagreed with his comments about Kirk’s death.

Kimmel’s Sept. 15 monologue did not address Kirk directly but criticized Trump supporters’ reaction to the shooting.

“We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang trying to characterize this kid who killed Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them,” Kimmel said, suggesting without evidence that the suspected shooter was a Trump supporter.

Kimmel also criticized Trump’s behavior after Kirk’s death, showing clips of the president talking about his White House Ballroom while responding to questions about the assassination.

After Kirk’s shooting, Kimmel shared a message against political violence and offered condolences to Kirk’s family.

“Instead of the angry finger-pointing, can we just for one day agree that it is horrible and monstrous to shoot another human?” Kimmel wrote on Instagram on Sept. 10. “On behalf of my family, we send love to the Kirks and to all the children, parents and innocents who fall victim to senseless gun violence.”

After Kimmel’s show was paused, Trump and Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr celebrated the decision.

During a Sept. 18 press conference, Trump said Kimmel was “fired” because of “bad ratings” and claimed Kimmel “said a horrible thing about a great man named Charlie Kirk.”

“You can call that free speech or not,” the president said.