Career
He established the International Free Press Society in 2004. Originally a historian and a high school teacher, he was one of the editors of the Fundamental historie series of books, and edited a volume of the Hvem Hvad Hvor ("Who What Where") yearbook in the 1980s. He also worked as a journalist.
In the 2000s, he wrote a column called "Roughly Said" for the newspaper Berlingske Tidende.
On July 4, 2014, a new animated film that he co-produced entitled Aisha and Muhammad was released. The film was directed by Pakistani director Imran Firasat.
In 2011, he was convicted of hate speech under the Article 266b of the Danish Penal Code, and fined 5,000 kroner. He appealed the verdict, and in 2012, the Supreme Court acquitted him in a 7-0 decision.
On 5 February 2013, an unknown person posing as a postman attempted to shoot Hedegaard in his home.
The attempt failed, and the assailant escaped. The Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt condemned the attack and said the case was even more severe if the motive was to prevent Hedegaard from using his free speech.