FRESNO, Calif. (KMJ/KFSN) — Close to 200 people gathered on the Fresno State campus Wednesday night for a vigil for slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
Students were lighting candles and laying flowers for the founder of an organization known for its sometimes-controversial viewpoints.
“I found him to be a free thinker,” Fresno State sophomore Dominic Duran said.
During his appearances on college campuses and universities, Kirk delivered remarks with some calling his comments free speech, while others described it as hateful at times.
“A saying going around is, ‘He didn’t have hate speech, people just hated what he said’ and I think that’s very true,” Fresno State senior Julia Bizik said.
But when does free speech cross over into hate speech?
“I actually don’t agree with the term ‘Hate Speech’ because people can move that subjective line on hate speech whichever way they want. What I don’t agree with is when there are calls for violence,” California assemblyman David Tangipa said.
“I think it crosses over into hate speech when it’s harmful toward an individual, when it makes them feel unsafe and it makes them feel like they’re not worthy,” Bizik said.
In the week since Kirk’s murder, there have been as many as three educators in the Central Valley disciplined or put on leave for allegations of insensitive comments made in front of students.
The most recent on September 13, when a Fresno State lecturer was allegedly recorded making what the university described as “disturbing” comments in the wake of Kirk’s murder.
On a national scale, Attorney General Pam Bondi had these works to say regarding hate speech in America.
“We will absolutely target you, go after you if you are targeting anyone with hate speech, anything, and that’s across the aisle,” U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said.
She later clarified her comments after receiving backlash over First Amendment rights concerns.
Bondi’s statement reads, “My intention was to speak about threats of violence that individuals incite against others? Freedom of speech is sacred in our country, and we will never impede upon that right.”
A similar vigil was scheduled at the College of the Sequoias campus on Thursday, but has since been cancelled for unknown reasons.
