Swalwell hits back at Bondi on hate speech, says she failed ‘to prosecute MULTIPLE direct death threats’ against him

Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) on Tuesday criticized Attorney General Pam Bondi over a social media post discussing hate speech, saying she “has REFUSED to prosecute MULTIPLE direct death threats against me and my family.”

In a Tuesday post on the social platform X, Bondi said that “hate speech that crosses the line into threats of violence is NOT protected by the First Amendment.”

“It’s a crime. For far too long, we’ve watched the radical left normalize threats, call for assassinations, and cheer on political violence. That era is over,” Bondi added in her lengthy post.

“This is rich. AG Bondi has REFUSED to prosecute MULTIPLE direct death threats against me and my family,” Swalwell replied to Bondi’s post on X later Tuesday morning.

Bondi’s and Swalwell’s posts follow the recent shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, whose death has sparked conversations about freedom of speech. 

Federal prosecutors announced last year that a Florida man was given a prison sentence of two years over threatening to kill Swalwell and his children.

The California Democrat also said in 2023 that attacks from former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) were resulting in death threats against him. He told MSNBC’s Nicolle Wallace on “Deadline: White House” that McCarthy planned to strip him of committee assignments for “political vengeance.”

The Justice Department declined to comment on the matter.

Updated at 2:16 p.m. EDT