Fox News legal analyst Jonathan Turley stunned host Harris Faulkner on Monday when he defended New York Attorney General Letitia James’ freedom of speech.
The Fire Department of New York (FDNY) recently promised to “hunt down” the pro-Trump staffers who booed and heckled James during a Thursday ceremony.
While commenting on the story, Turley said that although her case against former President Donald Trump is “politically motivated,” he opposes the practice of shouting down and de-platforming opposing viewpoints.
“Well you know this may surprise you because I’ve been one of the most vocal critics against James since she ran for the New York attorney general’s position,” Turley said. “I felt her campaign was unethical. I think the case that she brought against Trump was excessive and abusive and politically motivated. But I also don’t agree with shouting down speakers. We see this happen on campuses all the time. It’s called de-platforming, and it is not an exercise of free speech to keep others from speaking or others from listening.”
“So I think that there is a basis to say, ‘Look, you’ve gotta follow the rules here. You can protest but you can’t stop others from speaking,'” he continued.
“And I caught what you said there. This is about everybody else in the room who might’ve been trying to hear or listen, and if you talk over that, that is colliding with what we might think traditionally of free speech. That’s what I heard you say, and I didn’t even — yeah, that’s brilliant,” Faulkner said. “That’s why you’re here.” (RELATED: ‘Mega-Loser State’: Kevin O’Leary Says He Will ‘Never’ Invest In New York After Trump Ruling)
In videos of James’ event, elements of the crowd can be heard chanting “Trump” as the AG spoke. The Uniformed Fire Officers Association (UFOA) and Uniformed Firefighters Association condemned this behavior and called on their members to “do better.”
An FDNY retiree said the department “sent their fascist pit bulls” after staffers exercising their First Amendment rights, according to the New York Post.
“It was a political stunt for the city to have the AG there. When it backfired, they sent their fascist pit bulls after guys for exercising their First Amendment rights,” the unnamed retiree said. “Most were off-duty and not in FDNY uniform.”
James sued Trump in Sept. 2022 for allegedly deceiving banks and insurance companies by overvaluing his assets. On Feb. 16, Judge Arthur Engoron ordered Trump to pay over $350 million in damages and barred him “from serving as an officer or director of any New York corporation or other legal entity in New York for a period of three years.”