#criminalizingdissent — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #criminalizingdissent, aggregated by home.social.
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#US Manufactured Crimes and Spied on Peaceful #Protesters During #Minneapolis Metro Surge, New Court Filing Reveals
By Brenda Norrell, Censored News, August 14, 2026
MINNEAPOLIS -- "While #Dakotas were praying at a #SacredSpring for those held in federal detention at the #WhippleBuilding in Minneapolis -- the U.S. government was spying on, and stalking, the #WhippleWatchers, a new court document reveals.
"The government is refusing to release all of its documents on its surveillance of those watching the Whipple building. The Whipple building is on the site of a former concentration camp, where Dakota and Ho Chunk were imprisoned, suffered and died.
" 'The government admits withholding at least five #ProjectWhippleShield #ROIs (Reports of Investigation) from the initial disclosures,' the court filing states.
"In the current case, the court document for discovery filed yesterday describes how the U.S. government spied on and tracked peaceful protesters during the #resistance to #OperationMetroSurge.
"Not only were peaceful protesters spied on, #stalked and #doxxed, but the #surveillance was carried out to #ManufactureCrimes when none existed, states the court document filed by a defense attorney for one of the government's targets."
Read more:
https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2026/08/us-manufactured-crimes-and-spied-on.html#Authoritarianism #Fascism #USPol #UnionBusting #SilencingDissent
#CriminalizingDissent #DefundICE #DefundDHS #CharacteristicsOfFascism
#DepartmentOfHomelandInsecurity -
‘Outrageous’: #Trump Officials Investigated #LeftWing Groups After #AlexPretti Killing in #Minneapolis
One #FirstAmendment advocacy group called the investigation a “disturbing, invasive, and utterly unjustifiable attack on freedom of expression and political dissent.”
Julia Conley
Aug 13, 2026"The Trump administration began the probe under the auspices of investigating whether the groups had provided 'help and money,' as the Times reported, to people who had participated in protests across the #MinneapolisSaintPaul area, where tens of thousands of residents rallied against US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (#ICE) and defended their neighbors from immigration raids last winter.
"Newly released government documents, which were uncovered after an attorney filed a motion with the federal District Court in Minnesota demanding information about the DHS investigation, show that the agency characterized the protesters who opposed ICE as 'violent opportunists and agitators.'
"The investigation included #DHS’ use of administrative subpoenas to obtain financial records from #SunriseMovement, Communications Workers of America [ #CWA ], and the #SEIU, scrutinizing what the agency called 'domestic terrorist financing.' "
https://www.commondreams.org/news/trump-left-wing
#Authoritarianism #Fascism #USPol #UnionBusting #SilencingDissent #CriminalizingDissent #DefundICE #DefundDHS #CharacteristicsOfFascism #DepartmentOfHomelandInsecurity
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Incarcerated for Life in #Trump’s War on the Left
#AutumnHill had already gone home when a #protest outside an #ICE facility turned violent. She was still sentenced to 50 years, over twice as long as any #Jan6 defendant
by MATTHEW COOLEY
August 12, 2026"The battering ram took down the door first. A column of steel bolted to the front of a tactical vehicle slammed through Autumn Hill’s front entryway. Then the windows shattered. FBI agents threw flash-bang grenades through the glass, their concussions rattling the house’s front rooms. Hill was in the shared office space, in a thin red dress, puttering around on her computer. She heard screams from the other rooms. Then, the buzzing of a drone, as the police flew a quadcopter in through the splintered doorframe. A voice from the drone shrieked out, telling the residents of the house to come out with their hands up. Hill was terrified. She edged out of the door and immediately stared down a wall of gun barrels, masked agents screaming orders, the drone screaming in the air behind her.
" 'I remember thinking, ‘If I don’t do exactly what I’m told for the next minute of my life I’m going to die right now,' Hill says.
Through its loudspeaker, the #drone called repeatedly for one name: '#BenjaminSong.' Song wasn’t in the house, and no one inside knew them by that name. To Hill and her chosen family — an eclectic mix of personalities who lived together in what they called the '#BigGayHouse' — Song was 'Champagne,' a #genderfluid, politically #radical #activist who had, the night before, led a group to a demonstration outside of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility near #PrairielandTX. The protest, on July 4, 2025, was loosely organized in a collection of local activism group chats, and attracted a few dozen attendees, all of whom had their own idea of what they wanted to accomplish. Many, like Hill, planned a '#NoiseDemo,' or a loud protest involving fireworks and loud chants, aimed at disrupting the guards’ routine and letting the detainees inside know that they had supporters outside the fence."
Archived version:
https://archive.ph/eRg8I#WarOnTheLeft #USPol #Prairieland #DetentionCenters #Fascism #NSPM7 #PrairielandDefendants #Orwellian #SilencingDissent #CriminalizingDissent #Prairieland8 #CharacteristicsOfFascism
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UK watchdog says #CounterterrorismLaw could hit #protests, #FreeSpeech
By Sam Tabahriti, April 29, 2026
LONDON, (Reuters) - "Britain's terrorism watchdog on Wednesday said the government risked stretching counterterrorism laws beyond their original purpose by using such powers against #ActivistGroups, blurring the line between protests and national security threats.
"In his annual report examining the use of Britain's terrorism legislation during 2024, independent reviewer Jonathan Hall said the subsequent banning of pro-Palestine group Palestine Action had exposed "real uncertainty" over whether serious damage to property alone should qualify as terrorism.
"The law's broad wording could without clearer limits risk pulling protest activity into terrorism policing, even where there is no intent to harm people, Hall said.
" 'There is no legal authority on what 'serious damage to property' means,' Hall wrote, saying the definition could extend beyond violent attacks to acts such as criminal damage, depending on how courts interpret the threshold."
#PalestineAction #UKPol #SilencingFreeSpeech #CriminalizingDissent #VagueLaws #AntiProtestLaws
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I guess all #Goths are #Terrorists?
Wearing #AllBlack at #Protests Makes You Guilty of #Terrorism, Prosecutors Tell Jury
The Prairieland case is a major test of the Trump administration’s push to label “#antifa” protesters as #terrorists.
“They’re here asking you guys to put protesters in prison as terrorists.”
by Matt Sledge
March 12 2026,"Federal agents raiding the home of two alleged #antifa 'operatives' seized a telling piece of evidence, a defense attorney said during closing arguments in a landmark trial Wednesday.
"A printing press.
"That printing press was never presented to jurors. Still, the government has kept it locked away because it hated the #pamphlets and #zines it published, lawyer Blake Burns said.
"Burns represents Elizabeth Soto, one of nine defendants whose fates were in the hands of jurors as deliberations began Thursday. All are accused of roles during or after a late-night noise demonstration outside #PrairielandDetentionCenter, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility near Dallas that ended with a local police officer wounded by gunfire.
"The case has become a bellwether for the Trump administration’s crackdown on dissent from the left. The government charged people involved with the #AntiICE protest with a slew of charges, including attempted murder and terrorism counts that defense attorneys said are being used to #CriminalizeProtest.
" 'They’re here asking you guys to put protesters in prison as terrorists,' Burns, the defense lawyer, told jurors. 'That’s not happened before. And you are literally the only people in the world who can stop it.'
"During 10 days of testimony in a packed Fort Worth, Texas, courtroom, prosecutors bombarded jurors with images of radical zines printed on the press, anti-government internet memes, drawings of burning cop cars, and a video of an unidentified street brawl between far-left and far-right protesters.
"Prosecutors acknowledged those materials were protected by the #FirstAmendment but said they showed the roughly dozen people who assembled outside the ICE facility were steeped in antifa tactics.
"Eight of nine defendants on trial this month face material support for terrorism charges for wearing '#BlackBloc' clothes at the protest. Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel have hailed the first-ever use of terrorism charges against alleged antifa members."
Read more:
https://theintercept.com/2026/03/12/antifa-ice-protest-texas-trial-terrorism/Archived version:
https://archive.ph/UFFO9#USPol #CriminalizingDissent #CriminalizingProtest #Fascism #Authoritarianism #CharacteristicsOfFascism
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Anti-ICE #Protesters Convicted on #Terrorism Charges for Wearing All Black
By Matt Sledge, March 13, 2026
Excerpt: "The defendants said the protest was a peaceful demonstration meant to show solidarity, pointing to the megaphone that one member of the group brought to shout slogans to detainees. Prosecutors pointed to the guns, ballistic vests, and trauma first-aid kits they brought as evidence of malicious intent."
Read more:
https://theintercept.com/2026/03/13/ice-protesters-terrorism-prairieland-antifa/#Antifa #RadicalZines #AntiICE #PrairielandDetentionFacility #Texas #USPol #CriminalizingDissent #BlackClothes #BlackBloc #CharacteristicsOfFascism #BenjaminSong #AutumnHill #ZacharyEvetts #SavannaBatten #MeganMorris #MaricelaRueda #ElizabethSoto #InesSoto
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#PamBondi Admits #DOJ Has a Secret #DomesticTerrorist List
After the DOJ dodged questions for months, Bondi acknowledged in a House Judiciary Committee hearing that she had a list of targets under NPSM-7.
Nick Turse
February 12 2026Excerpt: "A November FBI internal report obtained by The Guardian revealed that there were multiple active FBI investigations related to NSPM-7 in 27 locations. The Intercept revealed on Thursday that the FBI appears to be investigating #ExtinctionRebellionNYC, a climate activism group, in an inquiry that could potentially be related to NSPM-7."
Read more:
https://theintercept.com/2026/02/12/pam-bondi-domestic-terror-list-nspm-7/Archived version:
https://archive.ph/OArt2#USPol #NPSM7 #SilencingDissent #Resistance #CriminalizingDissent #Authoritarianism #Fascism #EnvironmentalGroups #ProPalestineGroups #Antifa #ExtinctionRebellion #CharacteristicsOfFascism
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🚨 We all knew this would be coming... Don't like polluters? TOUGH SHIT! You're under arrest!!!
#FBI #Counterterrorism Agents Spent Weeks Seeking a #ClimateActivist — Then Showed Up at His Door
The visit suggests a possible FBI probe into #ExtinctionRebellionNYC as the Trump administration increases surveillance of #activist groups.
Jacqueline Sweet, February 12 2026
Excerpt: "Federal Bureau of Investigation agents, at least one of whom works on counterterrorism, went to the home of a former member of a #ClimateActivism group for questioning last week, potentially signaling a new escalation in the Trump administration’s promise to criminalize #nonprofits and #ActivistGroups as #DomesticTerrorists.
"Two FBI agents, one from New York’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, told a former member of Extinction Rebellion NYC they wanted to ask him about the group at his home upstate on Friday, an attorney for the group told The Intercept. The visit followed a prior attempt to reach him at his old address.
"The FBI’s apparent probe of Extinction Rebellion NYC comes as the Justice Department ramps up its surveillance of activists protesting immigration enforcement and the Trump administration creates secret lists of domestic enemies under Trump’s National Security Presidential #Memorandum7, or #NSPM7." 'I believe this to be a significant escalation of the criminal legal system against #XR and find it very troubling,' said Ron Kuby, the Extinction Rebellion attorney. 'This is usually the way we find out an actual investigation is underway and is often followed by other visits and other actions.'
"The former Extinction Rebellion member, who asked to remain anonymous out of fear for his safety, said that the visit came after a phone call in January from a special agent that he assumed was a scam.
" 'I was skeptical the phone call was really from the FBI, but after I declined to speak with the agent, she said that she was standing outside my door,' he said. She was actually at the activist’s former address, which he said made him additionally dubious. But last week, when the agents showed up at his current address, he said he saw the agent’s business card through his door."
Read more:
https://theintercept.com/2026/02/12/fbi-counterterror-extinction-rebellion/Archived version:
https://archive.ph/4Nq3X#USPol #ExtinctionRebellion #CriminalizingDissent #AntiProtestLaws #EPAFail #Polluters #Corporatocracy #CorporateColonialism #Oligarchy #EnvironmentalActivists #WaterIsLife #AirIsLife #NoMiningWithoutConsent #ResistFascism #Authoritarianism #Fascism #Orwellian #ThoughtCrime #BigBrother #NineteenEightyFour #SilencingDissent #SilencingFreeSpeech #CorporationsAreTheRealTerrorists
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🚨 We all knew this would be coming... Don't like polluters? TOUGH SHIT! You're under arrest!!!
#FBI #Counterterrorism Agents Spent Weeks Seeking a #ClimateActivist — Then Showed Up at His Door
The visit suggests a possible FBI probe into #ExtinctionRebellionNYC as the Trump administration increases surveillance of #activist groups.
Jacqueline Sweet, February 12 2026
Excerpt: "Federal Bureau of Investigation agents, at least one of whom works on counterterrorism, went to the home of a former member of a #ClimateActivism group for questioning last week, potentially signaling a new escalation in the Trump administration’s promise to criminalize #nonprofits and #ActivistGroups as #DomesticTerrorists.
"Two FBI agents, one from New York’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, told a former member of Extinction Rebellion NYC they wanted to ask him about the group at his home upstate on Friday, an attorney for the group told The Intercept. The visit followed a prior attempt to reach him at his old address.
"The FBI’s apparent probe of Extinction Rebellion NYC comes as the Justice Department ramps up its surveillance of activists protesting immigration enforcement and the Trump administration creates secret lists of domestic enemies under Trump’s National Security Presidential #Memorandum7, or #NSPM7." 'I believe this to be a significant escalation of the criminal legal system against #XR and find it very troubling,' said Ron Kuby, the Extinction Rebellion attorney. 'This is usually the way we find out an actual investigation is underway and is often followed by other visits and other actions.'
"The former Extinction Rebellion member, who asked to remain anonymous out of fear for his safety, said that the visit came after a phone call in January from a special agent that he assumed was a scam.
" 'I was skeptical the phone call was really from the FBI, but after I declined to speak with the agent, she said that she was standing outside my door,' he said. She was actually at the activist’s former address, which he said made him additionally dubious. But last week, when the agents showed up at his current address, he said he saw the agent’s business card through his door."
Read more:
https://theintercept.com/2026/02/12/fbi-counterterror-extinction-rebellion/Archived version:
https://archive.ph/4Nq3X#USPol #ExtinctionRebellion #CriminalizingDissent #AntiProtestLaws #EPAFail #Polluters #Corporatocracy #CorporateColonialism #Oligarchy #EnvironmentalActivists #WaterIsLife #AirIsLife #NoMiningWithoutConsent #ResistFascism #Authoritarianism #Fascism #Orwellian #ThoughtCrime #BigBrother #NineteenEightyFour #SilencingDissent #SilencingFreeSpeech #CorporationsAreTheRealTerrorists
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🚨 We all knew this would be coming... Don't like polluters? TOUGH SHIT! You're under arrest!!!
#FBI #Counterterrorism Agents Spent Weeks Seeking a #ClimateActivist — Then Showed Up at His Door
The visit suggests a possible FBI probe into #ExtinctionRebellionNYC as the Trump administration increases surveillance of #activist groups.
Jacqueline Sweet, February 12 2026
Excerpt: "Federal Bureau of Investigation agents, at least one of whom works on counterterrorism, went to the home of a former member of a #ClimateActivism group for questioning last week, potentially signaling a new escalation in the Trump administration’s promise to criminalize #nonprofits and #ActivistGroups as #DomesticTerrorists.
"Two FBI agents, one from New York’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, told a former member of Extinction Rebellion NYC they wanted to ask him about the group at his home upstate on Friday, an attorney for the group told The Intercept. The visit followed a prior attempt to reach him at his old address.
"The FBI’s apparent probe of Extinction Rebellion NYC comes as the Justice Department ramps up its surveillance of activists protesting immigration enforcement and the Trump administration creates secret lists of domestic enemies under Trump’s National Security Presidential #Memorandum7, or #NSPM7." 'I believe this to be a significant escalation of the criminal legal system against #XR and find it very troubling,' said Ron Kuby, the Extinction Rebellion attorney. 'This is usually the way we find out an actual investigation is underway and is often followed by other visits and other actions.'
"The former Extinction Rebellion member, who asked to remain anonymous out of fear for his safety, said that the visit came after a phone call in January from a special agent that he assumed was a scam.
" 'I was skeptical the phone call was really from the FBI, but after I declined to speak with the agent, she said that she was standing outside my door,' he said. She was actually at the activist’s former address, which he said made him additionally dubious. But last week, when the agents showed up at his current address, he said he saw the agent’s business card through his door."
Read more:
https://theintercept.com/2026/02/12/fbi-counterterror-extinction-rebellion/Archived version:
https://archive.ph/4Nq3X#USPol #ExtinctionRebellion #CriminalizingDissent #AntiProtestLaws #EPAFail #Polluters #Corporatocracy #CorporateColonialism #Oligarchy #EnvironmentalActivists #WaterIsLife #AirIsLife #NoMiningWithoutConsent #ResistFascism #Authoritarianism #Fascism #Orwellian #ThoughtCrime #BigBrother #NineteenEightyFour #SilencingDissent #SilencingFreeSpeech #CorporationsAreTheRealTerrorists
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🚨 We all knew this would be coming... Don't like polluters? TOUGH SHIT! You're under arrest!!!
#FBI #Counterterrorism Agents Spent Weeks Seeking a #ClimateActivist — Then Showed Up at His Door
The visit suggests a possible FBI probe into #ExtinctionRebellionNYC as the Trump administration increases surveillance of #activist groups.
Jacqueline Sweet, February 12 2026
Excerpt: "Federal Bureau of Investigation agents, at least one of whom works on counterterrorism, went to the home of a former member of a #ClimateActivism group for questioning last week, potentially signaling a new escalation in the Trump administration’s promise to criminalize #nonprofits and #ActivistGroups as #DomesticTerrorists.
"Two FBI agents, one from New York’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, told a former member of Extinction Rebellion NYC they wanted to ask him about the group at his home upstate on Friday, an attorney for the group told The Intercept. The visit followed a prior attempt to reach him at his old address.
"The FBI’s apparent probe of Extinction Rebellion NYC comes as the Justice Department ramps up its surveillance of activists protesting immigration enforcement and the Trump administration creates secret lists of domestic enemies under Trump’s National Security Presidential #Memorandum7, or #NSPM7." 'I believe this to be a significant escalation of the criminal legal system against #XR and find it very troubling,' said Ron Kuby, the Extinction Rebellion attorney. 'This is usually the way we find out an actual investigation is underway and is often followed by other visits and other actions.'
"The former Extinction Rebellion member, who asked to remain anonymous out of fear for his safety, said that the visit came after a phone call in January from a special agent that he assumed was a scam.
" 'I was skeptical the phone call was really from the FBI, but after I declined to speak with the agent, she said that she was standing outside my door,' he said. She was actually at the activist’s former address, which he said made him additionally dubious. But last week, when the agents showed up at his current address, he said he saw the agent’s business card through his door."
Read more:
https://theintercept.com/2026/02/12/fbi-counterterror-extinction-rebellion/Archived version:
https://archive.ph/4Nq3X#USPol #ExtinctionRebellion #CriminalizingDissent #AntiProtestLaws #EPAFail #Polluters #Corporatocracy #CorporateColonialism #Oligarchy #EnvironmentalActivists #WaterIsLife #AirIsLife #NoMiningWithoutConsent #ResistFascism #Authoritarianism #Fascism #Orwellian #ThoughtCrime #BigBrother #NineteenEightyFour #SilencingDissent #SilencingFreeSpeech #CorporationsAreTheRealTerrorists
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🚨 We all knew this would be coming... Don't like polluters? TOUGH SHIT! You're under arrest!!!
#FBI #Counterterrorism Agents Spent Weeks Seeking a #ClimateActivist — Then Showed Up at His Door
The visit suggests a possible FBI probe into #ExtinctionRebellionNYC as the Trump administration increases surveillance of #activist groups.
Jacqueline Sweet, February 12 2026
Excerpt: "Federal Bureau of Investigation agents, at least one of whom works on counterterrorism, went to the home of a former member of a #ClimateActivism group for questioning last week, potentially signaling a new escalation in the Trump administration’s promise to criminalize #nonprofits and #ActivistGroups as #DomesticTerrorists.
"Two FBI agents, one from New York’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, told a former member of Extinction Rebellion NYC they wanted to ask him about the group at his home upstate on Friday, an attorney for the group told The Intercept. The visit followed a prior attempt to reach him at his old address.
"The FBI’s apparent probe of Extinction Rebellion NYC comes as the Justice Department ramps up its surveillance of activists protesting immigration enforcement and the Trump administration creates secret lists of domestic enemies under Trump’s National Security Presidential #Memorandum7, or #NSPM7." 'I believe this to be a significant escalation of the criminal legal system against #XR and find it very troubling,' said Ron Kuby, the Extinction Rebellion attorney. 'This is usually the way we find out an actual investigation is underway and is often followed by other visits and other actions.'
"The former Extinction Rebellion member, who asked to remain anonymous out of fear for his safety, said that the visit came after a phone call in January from a special agent that he assumed was a scam.
" 'I was skeptical the phone call was really from the FBI, but after I declined to speak with the agent, she said that she was standing outside my door,' he said. She was actually at the activist’s former address, which he said made him additionally dubious. But last week, when the agents showed up at his current address, he said he saw the agent’s business card through his door."
Read more:
https://theintercept.com/2026/02/12/fbi-counterterror-extinction-rebellion/Archived version:
https://archive.ph/4Nq3X#USPol #ExtinctionRebellion #CriminalizingDissent #AntiProtestLaws #EPAFail #Polluters #Corporatocracy #CorporateColonialism #Oligarchy #EnvironmentalActivists #WaterIsLife #AirIsLife #NoMiningWithoutConsent #ResistFascism #Authoritarianism #Fascism #Orwellian #ThoughtCrime #BigBrother #NineteenEightyFour #SilencingDissent #SilencingFreeSpeech #CorporationsAreTheRealTerrorists
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#Trump Calls His Enemies Terrorists. Does That Mean He Can Just Kill Them?
From boat strikes to killings in the streets of Minnesota to NSPM-7, the White House leans on the word “terror” to justify its violence.
Nick Turse, February 2 2026
" ' #Terrorist ' is the word that the Trump administration employs to describe the victims of its most egregious acts of #StateViolence.
"President Donald Trump has used the word 'terrorist' to justify the #ExtrajudicialKillings of civilians in the #CaribbeanSea and #PacificOcean. And his deputies used it to explain away the killings of #AlexPretti and #ReneeGood in Minneapolis by federal agents." 'Earlier this morning, on my Orders, U.S. Military Forces conducted a kinetic strike against positively identified Tren de Aragua #NarcoTerrorists,' Trump wrote following the initial boat strike on September 2, 2025. He said the attack 'occurred while the terrorists were at sea in International waters.'
"Secretary of Homeland Security #KristiNoem said that Good and Pretti were guilty of '#DomesticTerrorism.' And top White House adviser #StephenMiller used similar language to describe both.
"These killings were conducted thousands of miles apart by different agencies in very different contexts. But the connection between them could be more than semantic."
Read more:
https://theintercept.com/2026/02/02/trump-nspm-7-domestic-terrorist-minneapolis-alex-pretti/Archived version:
https://archive.ph/7VepO##USPol #ICESucks #DomesticTerrorist #CriminalizingDissent #TrumpSucks #MurderPatrol #BorderPatrol #DefundICE #DefundDHS #Resistance
#DepartmentOfHomelandInsecurity -
#Trump Calls His Enemies Terrorists. Does That Mean He Can Just Kill Them?
From boat strikes to killings in the streets of Minnesota to NSPM-7, the White House leans on the word “terror” to justify its violence.
Nick Turse, February 2 2026
" ' #Terrorist ' is the word that the Trump administration employs to describe the victims of its most egregious acts of #StateViolence.
"President Donald Trump has used the word 'terrorist' to justify the #ExtrajudicialKillings of civilians in the #CaribbeanSea and #PacificOcean. And his deputies used it to explain away the killings of #AlexPretti and #ReneeGood in Minneapolis by federal agents." 'Earlier this morning, on my Orders, U.S. Military Forces conducted a kinetic strike against positively identified Tren de Aragua #NarcoTerrorists,' Trump wrote following the initial boat strike on September 2, 2025. He said the attack 'occurred while the terrorists were at sea in International waters.'
"Secretary of Homeland Security #KristiNoem said that Good and Pretti were guilty of '#DomesticTerrorism.' And top White House adviser #StephenMiller used similar language to describe both.
"These killings were conducted thousands of miles apart by different agencies in very different contexts. But the connection between them could be more than semantic."
Read more:
https://theintercept.com/2026/02/02/trump-nspm-7-domestic-terrorist-minneapolis-alex-pretti/Archived version:
https://archive.ph/7VepO##USPol #ICESucks #DomesticTerrorist #CriminalizingDissent #TrumpSucks #MurderPatrol #BorderPatrol #DefundICE #DefundDHS #Resistance
#DepartmentOfHomelandInsecurity -
#Trump Calls His Enemies Terrorists. Does That Mean He Can Just Kill Them?
From boat strikes to killings in the streets of Minnesota to NSPM-7, the White House leans on the word “terror” to justify its violence.
Nick Turse, February 2 2026
" ' #Terrorist ' is the word that the Trump administration employs to describe the victims of its most egregious acts of #StateViolence.
"President Donald Trump has used the word 'terrorist' to justify the #ExtrajudicialKillings of civilians in the #CaribbeanSea and #PacificOcean. And his deputies used it to explain away the killings of #AlexPretti and #ReneeGood in Minneapolis by federal agents." 'Earlier this morning, on my Orders, U.S. Military Forces conducted a kinetic strike against positively identified Tren de Aragua #NarcoTerrorists,' Trump wrote following the initial boat strike on September 2, 2025. He said the attack 'occurred while the terrorists were at sea in International waters.'
"Secretary of Homeland Security #KristiNoem said that Good and Pretti were guilty of '#DomesticTerrorism.' And top White House adviser #StephenMiller used similar language to describe both.
"These killings were conducted thousands of miles apart by different agencies in very different contexts. But the connection between them could be more than semantic."
Read more:
https://theintercept.com/2026/02/02/trump-nspm-7-domestic-terrorist-minneapolis-alex-pretti/Archived version:
https://archive.ph/7VepO##USPol #ICESucks #DomesticTerrorist #CriminalizingDissent #TrumpSucks #MurderPatrol #BorderPatrol #DefundICE #DefundDHS #Resistance
#DepartmentOfHomelandInsecurity -
#Trump Calls His Enemies Terrorists. Does That Mean He Can Just Kill Them?
From boat strikes to killings in the streets of Minnesota to NSPM-7, the White House leans on the word “terror” to justify its violence.
Nick Turse, February 2 2026
" ' #Terrorist ' is the word that the Trump administration employs to describe the victims of its most egregious acts of #StateViolence.
"President Donald Trump has used the word 'terrorist' to justify the #ExtrajudicialKillings of civilians in the #CaribbeanSea and #PacificOcean. And his deputies used it to explain away the killings of #AlexPretti and #ReneeGood in Minneapolis by federal agents." 'Earlier this morning, on my Orders, U.S. Military Forces conducted a kinetic strike against positively identified Tren de Aragua #NarcoTerrorists,' Trump wrote following the initial boat strike on September 2, 2025. He said the attack 'occurred while the terrorists were at sea in International waters.'
"Secretary of Homeland Security #KristiNoem said that Good and Pretti were guilty of '#DomesticTerrorism.' And top White House adviser #StephenMiller used similar language to describe both.
"These killings were conducted thousands of miles apart by different agencies in very different contexts. But the connection between them could be more than semantic."
Read more:
https://theintercept.com/2026/02/02/trump-nspm-7-domestic-terrorist-minneapolis-alex-pretti/Archived version:
https://archive.ph/7VepO##USPol #ICESucks #DomesticTerrorist #CriminalizingDissent #TrumpSucks #MurderPatrol #BorderPatrol #DefundICE #DefundDHS #Resistance
#DepartmentOfHomelandInsecurity -
#Trump Calls His Enemies Terrorists. Does That Mean He Can Just Kill Them?
From boat strikes to killings in the streets of Minnesota to NSPM-7, the White House leans on the word “terror” to justify its violence.
Nick Turse, February 2 2026
" ' #Terrorist ' is the word that the Trump administration employs to describe the victims of its most egregious acts of #StateViolence.
"President Donald Trump has used the word 'terrorist' to justify the #ExtrajudicialKillings of civilians in the #CaribbeanSea and #PacificOcean. And his deputies used it to explain away the killings of #AlexPretti and #ReneeGood in Minneapolis by federal agents." 'Earlier this morning, on my Orders, U.S. Military Forces conducted a kinetic strike against positively identified Tren de Aragua #NarcoTerrorists,' Trump wrote following the initial boat strike on September 2, 2025. He said the attack 'occurred while the terrorists were at sea in International waters.'
"Secretary of Homeland Security #KristiNoem said that Good and Pretti were guilty of '#DomesticTerrorism.' And top White House adviser #StephenMiller used similar language to describe both.
"These killings were conducted thousands of miles apart by different agencies in very different contexts. But the connection between them could be more than semantic."
Read more:
https://theintercept.com/2026/02/02/trump-nspm-7-domestic-terrorist-minneapolis-alex-pretti/Archived version:
https://archive.ph/7VepO##USPol #ICESucks #DomesticTerrorist #CriminalizingDissent #TrumpSucks #MurderPatrol #BorderPatrol #DefundICE #DefundDHS #Resistance
#DepartmentOfHomelandInsecurity -
“Terrorist”: How #ICE Weaponized 9/11’s Scarlet Letter
#SpencerAckerman on how the politics of #counterterrorism led to ICE and #CBP completing their transformation into a #DeathSquad — and why the agencies are unreformable.
The Intercept Briefing
February 6 2026"The word 'terrorist' wasn’t coined on September 11, 2001, but the defining event of the early 21st century ushered it in as the United States’ go-to term for demonizing outsiders and dissenters alike. The so-called “war on terror” transformed the way the U.S. wields power at home and abroad, enabling mass surveillance and a crackdown on the right to free speech. It became reflexive for the U.S. to disparage immigrants and protesters as supporters of terrorism.
"President Donald Trump has embraced this model and manipulated it for his own ends, as author Spencer Ackerman points out. The #Trump administration often peddles spurious accusations of #terrorism against the targets of its #ImmigrationRaids."
Read more:
https://theintercept.com/2026/02/06/spencer-ackerman-9-11-terrorists-ice/Archived version:
https://archive.ph/7VepO#NineEleven #USPol #ICESucks #DomesticTerrorist #CriminalizingDissent #TrumpSucks #MurderPatrol #BorderPatrol #Profiling #RacialProfing #DefundICE #DefundDHS #DepartmentOfHomelandInsecurity
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Why Isn’t News of #Trump Building Vast #ConcentrationCamps Being Treated as a #NationalEmergency?
History shows us that once a nation builds a #MassDetention apparatus, it never remains limited to its original targets. Wake up, people.
by #ThomHartmann, Feb 05, 2026
Excerpt: "The British originated the term '#ConcentrationCamp' to describe facilities where '#rebel' or 'undesirable' civilians were held in #SouthAfrica during the #SecondAngloBoerWar (1899–1902) to control and punish a #rebellious population.
"They were facilities where the 'bad elements of society' were 'concentrated' into one location so they could be easily controlled and would lose access to society and thus could not spread their messages of #resistance against the #BritishEmpire.
"Future generations of Americans—our children and grandchildren—won’t ask us whether #ICE followed civil detention statutes: they’ll want to know why we allowed concentration camps to exist in America at all.
"The Germans adopted the term in 1933 when #Hitler took power and created his first camp for #communists, #socialists, #UnioLleaders, and, by the end of the year, Hitler’s #PoliticalOpponents. They Germanized the phrase into '#Konzentrationslager' and referred to the process of their incarceration as 'protective custody.'
"The first camp was built at #Dachau just weeks after Hitler became Chancellor in 1933, and by the end of the year there were around 70 of them operating across the country."
#USPol #WakeUpPeople #HistoryRepeats #Fascism #Authoritarianism #DetentionCenters
#PrivatePrisons #CriminalizingDissent
#SilencingDissent #CharacteristicsOfFascism #DepartmentOfHomelandInsecurity -
Feds Criminalize Aiding #Protests Against #ICE
The #Trump administration is targeting nonviolent acts like identifying masked agents and handing out #PPE in support of LA’s #AntiICE movement.
Akela Lacy
July 23 2025Excerpt: " 'Roving patrols' operating without reasonable suspicion and denying access to #lawyers violated the Fourth and the Fifth Amendments, the judge wrote. 'What the federal government would have this Court believe — in the face of a mountain of evidence presented in this case — is that none of this is actually happening.'
"Now, those accused of helping the anti-ICE movement are facing prosecution or investigation. Earlier this month, a federal grand jury indicted a man after he handed out #FaceShields to people protesting ICE in Los Angeles two days after President Donald Trump deployed the #NationalGuard.
"#AlejandroOrellana, 29, pleaded not guilty to a charge of conspiracy to aid and abet civil disorders. According to a grand jury indictment, the face shields were 'advertised as designed to protect from chemical splashes and flying debris.'
" 'Alejandro Orellana’s arrest for distributing supplies is an outrageous violation of #CivilRights and should be a wakeup call to people everywhere,' said California attorney Thomas Harvey.
" 'This appears to be a targeted, political attack on resistance to a military incursion on our communities,' Harvey said. 'Distributing supplies to protesters is not a crime. It’s a critical role to help keep people safe — especially in the face of some of the most violent police repression I’ve seen since the #Ferguson uprising.' "
https://theintercept.com/2025/07/23/feds-criminalize-protests-masked-ice/
Archived version:
https://archive.ph/sQii5#ACAB #CriminalizingProtest #CriminalizingDissent #CivilRightsViolations #Authoritarianism #USPol #WeKeepOurselvesSafe #WeKeepEachOtherSafe
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Three #AntiProtestLaws recently passed in #Arizona, #Kentucky and #Texas
Source: https://www.icnl.org/usprotestlawtracker/
Arizona
HB 2880: Banning #protest #encampments on #campusBars protest encampments on the campuses of state colleges and universities. Under the new law, individuals or groups that establish an “encampment” are no longer lawfully present on campus for the purpose of speech protections under Arizona law; they are criminally liable to prosecution for trespass; and they are liable for any damage they cause, including the "direct and indirect costs" of removing the encampment and "restoring" campus. The new law defines “encampment” as “temporary shelter” installed on campus and used to stay overnight or “for a prolonged period of time.” The law requires colleges and universities to order individuals to dismantle and vacate any encampment; if the individuals refuse to comply, the institution is required to take disciplinary action and report the individuals to local law enforcement for trespassing. The sponsor of the new law said that it was motivated by #ProPalestine protests on college campuses.
Full bill text:
https://apps.azleg.gov/BillStatus/BillOverview/83353Status: enacted
Introduced 12 Feb 2025; Approved by House 3 March 2025; Approved by Senate 30 April 2025; Signed by Governor Hobbs 7 May 2025
Issue(s): #CampusProtests, #Trespass, Camping
Kentucky
HB 399: New penalties for protesters at the capitolCreates serious new criminal offenses that can cover #PeacefulProtesters at the state capitol, as well as anyone who “conspires” with or otherwise supports them. The first new offense applies to someone who enters the capitol, or impedes access to the capitol by a legislator or legislative staff, with intent to disrupt or impede legislative business—regardless of whether legislative business was in fact “impeded.” “Conspir[ing]” to engage in such conduct or “facilitat[ing]” another person to engage in the conduct is subject to the same penalties as actually engaging in it. It is a Class B misdemeanor (punishable by up to 3 months in jail) for a first incident, and a Class A misdemeanor (up to one year in jail) for subsequent incident. The law creates a second, more serious offense for someone who engages in “disorderly or disruptive conduct” inside the Capitol with intent to disrupt or impede legislative business, if their conduct in fact “disrupts” or “impedes” the legislature’s business—even momentarily. As written, the offense could cover a demonstrator who shouts a single chant during a legislative hearing. “Conspir[ing]” to engage in such conduct or “facilitat[ing]” another person to engage in the conduct is subject to the same penalties as actually engaging in it. The offense would be a Class A misdemeanor (punishable by up to one year in jail) for the first incident, and a Class D felony (up to 5 years in prison) for third and subsequent incident. Prior to passing the bill, lawmakers added an amendment which provides that the law will not be construed "to prohibit... [a]ssembly in traditional public forums, including but not limited to the Capitol rotunda and outdoor areas of the Capitol grounds." While helpful, the amendment does not immunize all peaceful protest activity that the law could potentially punish, including protest organizing. When he vetoed the bill (later overridden), Governor Beshear noted the risks it poses to lawful #FirstAmendment activity.
Full bill text:
https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/record/25rs/hb399.htmlStatus: enacted
Introduced 6 Feb 2025; Approved by House 7 March 2025; Approved by Senate 13 March 2025; Vetoed by Governor Beshear 25 March 2025; Veto overridden 27 March 2025
Issue(s): Protest Supporters or Funders, Police Response
Texas
#SB2972: New restrictions on #CampusProtestsRequires public colleges and universities to adopt new limitations on campus protests that among other things would ban protest encampments, limit protesters’ ability to wear a mask, and restrict vigils and other demonstrations at night. Under the law—which revises Texas’s 2019 law on campus speech—all public colleges and universities in the state must have policies that among other things prohibit: a) erecting tents or otherwise “camping” on campus; b) wearing a mask or other disguise while engaging in “expressive activities” on campus with certain intent, including intent to “intimidate others;” c) engaging in “expressive activities” between 10pm and 8am; d) engaging in “expressive activities” in the last two weeks of a school term by inviting speakers or using sound amplification or drums; and e) using sound amplification while engaging in “expressive activities” during class hours if it “intimidate[s] others.” Preexisting provisions of the law define “expressive activities” broadly as “any speech or expressive conduct protected by the First Amendment,” including but not limited to assemblies, protests, speeches, carrying signs, or distributing written material. As such, colleges and universities would seemingly be required to ban all kinds of expression between 10pm and 8am, from conversations in the dining hall to someone sending a text or wearing expressive clothing. The law repeals a provision in the 2019 law that established all common outdoor areas of campus as traditional public forums where anyone could engage in First Amendment activity, and replaced it with a provision authorizing the governing boards of schools to designate select areas as public forums.
Full bill text: https://capitol.texas.gov/BillLookup/History.aspx?LegSess=89R&Bill=SB2972Status: enacted
Introduced 14 Mar 2025; Approved by Senate 14 May 2025; Approved by House 28 May 2025; Signed by Governor Abbott 20 June 2025
Issue(s): Campus Protests, Face Covering, Camping
#USPol #CriminalizingProtest #CriminalizingDissent #AntiProtestLaws #TexasProtestLaws #KentuckyProtestLaws #ArizonaProtestLaws #ClothingBans #CollegeCampusProtests #MaskBans #EncampmentBans
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Arrests made in #ParliamentSquare as pro-#PalestineAction protests held across #UK
Dozens of #protesters assembled in central #London on Saturday afternoon
Sami Quadri, Megan Howe, July 19, 2025
"Fifty-five people have been arrested for displaying #placards in support of proscribed group Palestine Action, Met Police has said.
"Demonstrations are taking place in cities including London, #Manchester, #Edinburgh, #Bristol and #Truro after the group was officially proscribed as a terrorist organisation two weeks ago.
"Dozens of protesters assembled in Parliament Square on Saturday afternoon holding white placards that read: 'I oppose #genocide, I support Palestine Action.'
"Some demonstrators were led away in handcuffs, while others were carried off by officers. In a post on X, the Metropolitan Police said: 'Officers have moved in and arrests are taking place.'
"Police said the 55 people arrested were arrested under Section 13 of the #TerrorismAct 2000.
"The Met had previously said around 70 people were arrested at similar protests in Parliament Square over the past two weekends.
"#DefendOurJuries, the group coordinating the campaign, claims a total of 120 people have now been arrested across the UK.
"The force warned that anyone expressing support for Palestine Action was likely to be arrested, adding that officers were also monitoring for chants such as 'death to the #IDF', led by punk-rap duo #BobVylan at #GlastonburyFestival.
"The ban, under the #TerrorismAct2000, makes it a criminal offence to be a member of or show support for the group — with a maximum sentence of up to 14 years in prison. Wearing a badge or #TShirt bearing the group’s name now carries a potential six-month jail term.
"Palestine Action co-founder #HudaAmmori is seeking to challenge the ban, with a hearing to determine whether a judicial review can proceed set to take place at the High Court on Monday."
#CriminalizingProtest #CriminalizingDissent #FreePalestine #GazaGenocide #IsraeliWarCrimes
#BibiIsAWarCriminal #UKProtestLaws #AntiProtestLaws #UKPol #EnglandPol
#WorldPol #Authoritarianism #SilencingFreeSpeech -
#Journalists among at least 13 arrested during #immigration-related protest in #CincinnatiOH
Police in #CovingtonKY, said those arrested had refused to comply with orders to disperse.
By John Seewer | The Associated Press
"Police in Cincinnati arrested at least 13 people, including two journalists, after demonstrators protesting the #immigration #detention of a former hospital chaplain blocked a two-lane bridge carrying traffic over the #OhioRiver.
"A reporter and a photography intern who were arrested while covering the protest for #CityBeat, a Cincinnati news and entertainment outlet, were among those arraigned Friday morning in a Kentucky court.
"Other journalists reporting on protests around the U.S. have been have arrested and injured this year. More than two dozen were hurt or roughed up while covering protests against #ImmigrationRaids in #LosAngeles.
"A Spanish-language journalist was arrested in June while covering a #NoKings protest near #AtlantaGA. Police initially charged Mario Guevara, a native of El Salvador, with #UnlawfulAssembly, #obstruction of police and being a pedestrian on or along the roadway.
"A prosecutor dropped the charges, but Guevara had already been turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and is being held in a south Georgia immigration #DetentionCenter. His lawyers say he has been authorized to work and remain in the country, but #ICE is trying to deport him.
"Video from the demonstration in Cincinnati Thursday night shows several tense moments, including when an officer punches a protester several times as police wrestle him to the ground.
"Earlier, a black SUV drove slowly onto the Roebling Bridge while protesters walked along the roadway that connects Cincinnati with Kentucky. Another video shows a person in a neon-colored vest pushing against the SUV.
"Police in Covington, Kentucky, said those arrested had refused to comply with orders to disperse. The department said in a statement that officers who initially attempted to talk with the protest's organizer were threatened and met with hostility.
"Among the charges filed against those arrested were rioting, failing to disperse, obstructing emergency responders, criminal mischief and disorderly conduct.
"Reporter Madeline Fening and photo intern Lucas Griffith were charged with felony rioting and several other charges, said Ashley Moor, the editor in chief of CityBeat.
"A judge on Friday set a $2,500 bond for each of those arrested.
"The arrests happened during a protest in support of #AymanSoliman, an Egyptian immigrant who worked as a chaplain at Cincinnati Children's Hospital. He was detained last week after he showed up for a routine check-in with ICE officials at their office near Cincinnati.
"Protesters met in downtown Cincinnati on Thursday in support of Soliman, then walked across the bridge carrying a banner that read '#BuildBridgesNotWalls.'
"Covington police said that 'while the department supports the public’s right to peaceful assembly and expression, threatening officers and blocking #CriticalInfrastructure, such as a major bridge, presents a danger to all involved.' "
#ResistICE #CriminalizingDissent #CriminalizingJournalism #SilencingFreeSpeech #ProtestLawsKentucky #FirstAmendment #Authoritarianism #Fascism #ACAB #Clampdown #CriminalizingProtest #CharacteristicsOfFascism #USPol #AntiProtestLaws
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#Oklahoma court clarifies #RiotLaw amid legal battle for 2020 #protesters
The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals has clarified the state's definition of rioting, affecting the legal proceedings for five protesters charged in 2020.
Jason Burger, July 18, 2025
OKLAHOMA CITY — "The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals has clarified the state's definition of rioting, impacting the legal proceedings for five individuals charged after a protest in 2020 over the death of #GeorgeFloyd.
"In 2020, five protesters were accused of blocking the path of an officer while painting a #mural outside the police department.
" 'The defendants, who were convicted in the state of Oklahoma, filed a federal civil rights lawsuit, saying their free speech rights were violated by being forced to plead or go to trial,' said legal expert Ed Blau. 'What this opinion from the court of criminal appeals did was clarify to the federal court that covers Oklahoma — exactly what Oklahoma statutes mean when it comes to rioting.'
The protesters believed the law was vague or improperly defined."
#ProtestLawsOklahoma #VagueLaws #FirstAmendment #CriminalizingDissent
#Authoritarianism #Fascism #ACAB #Clampdown #CriminalizingProtest
#CharacteristicsOfFascism #USPol #AntiProtestLaws #GeorgeFloydProtests #BLM #ICantBreathe #BlackLivesMatter -
#RepublicOfGeorgia: New legislation directly threatens people's right to #protest and #FreeExpression
In a troubling shift toward #authoritarian governance, Georgia’s ruling party has enacted legislative reforms that drastically restrict freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, and proposed changes to restrict #media, public participation.
February 10, 2025
"The key changes obstructing people’s right to protest include:
- Expanded organisers' liability;
- Restrictions on spontaneous protests;
- Limitations on protests in enclosed spaces: Protests in closed spaces or buildings now require written consent from the property owner, significantly restricting #student and #workplace #demonstrations. This provision appears to be a direct response to recent protests on #UniversityCampuses;
- Expanded penalties for protest-related offenses: Petty #hooliganism fines have risen from GEL 500-1,000 to GEL 500-2,000 (from maximum approximately 350-700 EUR) , with imprisonment now up to 20 days instead of 15. Verbal insults towards #PoliceOfficers now carry fines of GEL 2,000 5,000 (approx. 700-1750 EUR) or up to 60 days’ imprisonment. Repeat offenses can result in a GEL 3,500-6,000 ( 1200–2100 EUR) fine and extended jail terms. Additionally, individuals accused of "disrupting public order" face severe criminal penalties, including up to 3 years in prison;
- New restrictions on symbolic protest actions: Covering one's face, possessing a laser or light-emitting device, or wearing clothing resembling police or military uniforms during assemblies are now punishable by fines of GEL 2,000 ( 700 EUR) or imprisonment up to 7 days. Such measures are expected to disproportionately impact younger protesters and student-led movements;
- #Broadened law enforcement powers: The Ministry of Internal Affairs now holds increased authority over protest regulation, including the power to block protests that allegedly threaten public order or constitutional stability. Authorities can now use '#EmergencyMeasures' to disperse gatherings, including mass #arrests and prolonged #detentions;
- Increased state control over protest logistics: Protesters are now required to ensure that demonstrations do not obstruct transportation routes. Organisers must take action within 15 minutes of a warning to remove roadblocks or temporary structures, failing which they will face criminal liability;
- Participation in protests previously dispersed by law enforcement is now classified as an offense, subjecting #demonstrators to legal consequences."Given that the median salary in Georgia in 2023 was GEL 1,238 (approximately 400 EUR), these fines represent a disproportionate financial burden on protesters, effectively discouraging civic engagement and public demonstrations."
#RightToProtest #AntiProtestLaws
#GeorgianLaws #CriminalizingDissent #CriminalizingProtest #HumanRights #RepublicOfGeorgia #GeorgianDream #FaceMasks #AntiMaskLaws #ProtestSponsors #ACAB #ExpandedPolicePowers #PoliceState #Authoritarianism #Fascism -
From 2024: #HumanRightsWatch - #Venezuela: Brutal #Crackdown on #Protesters, Voters
Killings, #MassArrests Following Elections
(Bogota) – "Venezuelan authorities are committing widespread #HumanRights violations against #protesters, #bystanders, #opposition leaders, and critics following the July 28, 2024, presidential election, Human Rights Watch said today. Concerned governments should push for independent verification of the electoral results and support international efforts to ensure accountability.
"International observers have raised serious concerns about the July 29 announcement by Venezuela’s National Electoral Council (CNE) that #NicolásMaduro had been re-elected president. Following the announcement, thousands of protesters have taken to the streets, in largely peaceful protests, to demand a fair counting of the votes. Human Rights Watch has documented that Venezuelan authorities and #ProGovernment armed groups known as '#colectivos' have committed widespread abuses, including killings, arbitrary detention and prosecution, and harassment of critics. On September 2, a judge issued an arrest warrant against opposition candidate #EdmundoGonzález for '#conspiracy,' 'incitement to #disobedience' and other crimes.
" 'The repression we are seeing in Venezuela is shockingly brutal,' said Juanita Goebertus, Americas director at Human Rights Watch. 'Concerned governments need to take urgent steps to ensure that people are able to peacefully protest and that their vote is respected.'
"Venezuelans voted in the presidential election in large numbers, despite irregular government actions and human rights violations in the lead-up to the election, including arrests of opposition members, arbitrary disqualifications of opposition candidates, and restrictions on Venezuelans #voting abroad. Several hours after polls closed, Venezuela’s electoral council declared that Maduro had won the election with over 51 percent of the vote. The Electoral Council has not released the tally sheets from the election, nor conducted the audits and citizen verification processes required by law.
"The United Nations Electoral Technical Team and the #CarterCenter, which observed the elections, said the process lacked transparency and integrity, and questioned the declared result. They indicated that, instead, the precinct-level tally sheets that the opposition made public were reliable. The Carter Center noted that the tally sheets showed, with 81 percent of the votes counted, that #González had won the election by a significant margin.
"Venezuelans have taken to the streets across the country, particularly in low-income areas traditionally supportive of the Chavismo movement, where many incidents of #repression have taken place.
"Human Rights Watch received credible reports of 24 killings in the context of #protests from independent local groups, including Foro Penal, Justicia Encuentro y Perdón, Monitor de Víctimas, and Provea, or discovered them on social media. Human Rights Watch independently documented 11 of these cases, including by reviewing death certificates, verifying videos and photographs, and interviewing 20 people, including witnesses and other local sources. Many relatives, witnesses, and others were not willing to be interviewed because they feared #GovernmentRetaliation.
"Human Rights Watch analyzed and verified 39 videos and 2 photographs of protests found on social media platforms or sent directly to researchers by people close to the victims, and by local organizations and journalists.
"Researchers confirmed the exact locations where these videos were filmed; used information such as shadows, weather patterns, and upload dates to determine the time of day; and consulted with forensic pathologists and arms experts, who analyzed the injuries and weapons that were seen and heard.
"According to Venezuelan authorities, they arrested over 2,400 people in connection with protests. The local pro bono group #ForoPenal recorded over 1,580 '#PoliticalPrisoners' who have been arrested since July 29, including 114 children. Prosecutors have charged hundreds with sometimes broadly defined crimes carrying harsh sentences, such as '#incitement to hatred,' '#resistance to #authority,' and 'terrorism.'
"The government has also intensified its broader repressive tactics, cancelling passports of critics to prevent them from leaving the country, encouraging citizens to report on #demonstrators, and conducting abusive #raids, especially in low-income communities. On August 15, Maduro’s supporters in the National Assembly passed a law that grants the government #BroadPowers to control and shut down nongovernmental organizations [#NGOs]."
Read more:
https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/09/04/venezuela-brutal-crackdown-protesters-voters#ElectionFraud #CharacteristicsOfFascism #Fascism #Authoritarianism #Crackdown #CriminalizingDissent #protesters #Protesting #BogusCharges #Murder
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#German #ClimateActivist faces expulsion from #Austria after ban
AFP Apr 7, 2025, Updated Apr 8, 2025
"Austria has banned a German climate activist for two years, she said on Monday, adding she would fight the decision, which could see her expelled from the Alpine EU member.
"#AnjaWindl, who has been living in Austria for seven years, became known for her #protests against #ClimateChange, including glueing herself on streets to stop #traffic with the #LastGeneration group.
"In a decision Windl received last week, the Federal Office for Immigration and Asylum issued the two-year ban, giving her one month to leave the country.
"The ban was issued after the German activist was found to pose a 'danger for the #PublicOrder and security', according to the decision seen by AFP." 'This is highly problematic from a democratic perspective,' Windl, a 28-year-old psychology #student, told AFP, adding she would appeal the ban.
" 'We are moving toward civilisational #collapse, and instead of holding those responsible accountable, it is those who have peacefully advocated for the preservation of our livelihoods" who are targeted, she said.
"Her lawyer, Ralf Niederhammer, said he did not know of any other political activist being banned from Austria. Windl faces no criminal charges, he added."
Read more:
https://homenewshere.com/national/news/article_5a9945d1-17ed-57c3-9d7a-9152ee80d9b5.html#CriminalizingDissent #TrafficInterference #CriminalizingProtest #ClimateActivism #AntiProtestLaws #GermanyPol #GermanAntiProtestLaws #Authoritarianism #Fascism #StudentProtesters #ClimateCatastrophe
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From 2024: States Are Restricting Protests and Criminalizing Dissent
United States of Suppression is a series documenting the recent crackdown on dissent and protests in the U.S. This op-ed discusses what happens when protesting becomes a crime.
By Elly Page and Alana Greer
June 26, 2024Excerpt: "Since 2017, 21 states across the country have passed new laws that restrict protests — nearly 50 in total — with dozens more being introduced annually.
"Most of these new laws increase criminal penalties for conduct, like interfering with traffic, involved in some kinds of protests. Under laws passed in states such as #Arkansas, #Iowa, and #Tennessee, protesters can spend up to a year in jail for 'obstructing' public #streets or #sidewalks, even though these are traditional venues for First Amendment-related activities. After protests against the #KeystoneXL Pipeline, 14 states dramatically increased penalties for trespassing, which would usually amount to a petty offense, if protesters enter lands with #pipelines or #pipeline construction sites.
"In many cases, these laws go further than punishing individual protesters to include the people and organizations that support them, putting organizers and community groups at risk. Under a recent law in #Oklahoma, an organization that 'conspires' with people to hold a protest can face felony penalties if the protest is deemed to be an 'unlawful assembly' — which state law defines vaguely enough to include a three-person protest that 'disturbs the public peace.' "
Read more:
https://www.teenvogue.com/story/states-restricting-protests-criminalizing#CriminalizingDissent
#Authoritarianism #Fascism #Clampdown #CriminalizingProtest
#CharacteristicsOfFascism #USPol #PipelineProtestors #TrafficInterference #DisturbingThePeace #BogusCharges #Crackdown #SLAPPs #VagueLaws #ProtestOrganizers #ProtestSponsors #ProtestSupporters #FirstAmendment -
#SilencingDissent: The #Crackdown on #PeacefulProtest in #Europe
In our recently published Rule of Law report, Liberties’ members reported an increase in restrictions on the right to peaceful protest in all countries.
by Flore du Teilleul
April 10, 2025Excerpt:
"The right to peaceful protest is essential to our democracies, allowing people to come together with a unified voice to support or oppose key issues. It serves as a powerful mechanism for individuals to hold their governments to account and is often the last resort when prior messages go unheard. However, politicians often perceive this right as a threat, especially when force of numbers demonstrates support for an issue."In our recently published Rule of Law report, Liberties’ members reported an increase in restrictions on the right to peaceful protest in all countries - from bans on individual protests to the disproportionate use of force by the police and legislative changes. A widespread trend emerged of restricted #ProPalestine protests and #EnvironmentalDefenders receiving particularly harsh penalties.
Bans on Protests
"Restrictions on various protest movements justified on public safety grounds were documented in many member states. In #Germany, the Berlin Assembly Authorities implemented a temporary blanket ban targeting pro-Palestine demonstrations. Initially, the ban targeted celebrations of the mass murder and pro-Hamas demonstrations but later extended to all pro-Palestinian protests. Similarly, in #Latvia, an unregistered #FreePalestine movement protest was banned after an assessment by the state security service that the event would, among other risks, harm the country’s international interests.
"The Estonian police banned a protest in support of #Palestinians, which was later declared unlawful by the administrative court. In #Hungary, Prime Minister #ViktorOrbán publicly prejudiced support for Palestinians by linking it with terrorism, equating solidarity with civilians victims to threats to the public order. As the fifteen attempts to organise protests were successively banned, the government and the Prime Minister re-asserted their power by deciding what can be demonstrated for, namely, topics in line with their political interests. Following the Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine, the Hungarian government has repeatedly declared and extended the state of danger, allowing for the adoption of emergency decrees restricting, among other rights, the freedom to assemble. Both the Hungarian Supreme Court and Constitutional Court upheld the protest bans on the basis of public safety and security, legalising the practice of police-authorised restrictions in times of conflict.
"Further restrictions, including bans on #slogans and #signs during #demonstrations, sought to criminalise protesters. Several individuals were arrested or fined for displaying signs or slogans related to Palestine. In #Belgium, activists faced administrative sanctions for carrying a #PalestinianFlag or the #keffiyeh. Similarly, in the #Netherlands, attendees of an #ExtinctionRebellion demonstration were prohibited from mentioning the conflict in the Middle East. The enforcement of restrictions went as far as arrests, as Croatian activists were charged with misdemeanor after projecting a message in support of Palestine on a building across from the Israeli Embassy in Zagreb.
"In Hungary, a demonstrator faced criminal charges after wearing a gas mask and removing it after being asked by the police. In a worrying trend of criminalising protest activities, several activists were arrested and charged with sedition before an Extinction Rebellion demonstration in the Netherlands.
Disproportionate use of force by the police
"The criminalisation of environmental and pro-Palestine protesters was worsened by the violent repression of the police through excessive use of force. This was particularly notable in Sweden, where student encampments in support of Palestinians were forcibly displaced and participants were charged with criminal offenses. #PainGrips, water guns and #WaterCannons were used against environmental activists, pro-Palestinian and anti-immigration demonstrators in Germany, the #Netherlands and #Ireland.
"Environmental activists faced similar fates, The NGO ‘#FranceNatureEnvironnement’ reported concerns to the UN Special Rapporteur on Environmental Defenders following the violent repression of protesters during a demonstration against the A69 highway. In #Sweden, a woman was dismissed from her job at the Swedish Energy Agency for participating in an environmental demonstration and a growing number of #EcoActivists were fined for participating in peaceful protests."
Read more:
https://www.liberties.eu/en/stories/rule-of-law-2025-protests/45384#RightToProtest #SilencingDissent #AntiProtestLaws #EuropeanLaws #Croatia #ACAB #CriminalizingDissent #CriminalizingProtest #FreePalestine #FreeGaza #EnvironmentalProtests #EnvironmentalActivists
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State by State Pending and recently passed #AntiProtestLaws: #Utah
SB 173: Criminal penalties for protests that disturb legislative or other government meetings
Creates new potential penalties for individuals protesting convenings of the legislature or other meetings of government officials. The law expands "disorderly conduct" to include a person who recklessly causes public inconvenience, annoyance, or alarm by making "unreasonable noises" at an official meeting or in a private place that can be heard at an official meeting. "#DisorderlyConduct" also includes obstructing #PedestrianTraffic at an official meeting or refusing to leave an official meeting when asked by law enforcement. The law also increases the penalty for disorderly conduct, such that it is punishable by a $750 fine on the first offense (an infraction), up to 3 months in jail if a person was warned to cease prohibited conduct (Class C misdemeanor), up to 6 months for a second offense (Class B misdemeanor), and up to 1 year for a third offense (Class A misdemeanor). Accordingly, the law could, for example, be used to penalize silent protesters who refuse to leave a legislative committee meeting. An earlier version of the bill explicitly made it unlawful to commit even a "single, loud outburst, absent other disruptive conduct, that does not exceed five seconds in length."
Full text of bill:
https://le.utah.gov/~2020/bills/static/SB0173.htmlStatus: enacted
Introduced 24 Feb 2020; Approved by Senate 5 March 2020; Approved by House 12 March 2020; Signed by Governor 30 March 2020
HB 370: New Penalties for Protests Near #Pipelines, #Roadways, and other #Infrastructure
**Note: This bill was amended prior to its passage, and provisions that would have covered peaceful protest activity were significantly narrowed.** As introduced, the bill would have created new potential criminal liability for protesters in many locations by criminalizing acts that "inhibit" or "impede" critical infrastructure facilities. The bill's original text had a sweeping definition of "critical infrastructure facility" that included highways, bridges, transportation systems, food distribution systems, law enforcement response systems, financial systems, and energy infrastructure including pipelines--whether under construction or operational. The bill created a new felony offense for "inhibiting," or "impeding" the facility, its equipment, or operation, such that protesters who intentionally inhibited or impeded the operation of a roadway or construction of a pipeline could have faced life in prison. Amendments to the bill substantially narrowed the offense, however. The enacted law criminalizes "substantially... inhibiting or impeding" the operation of critical infrastructure only if doing so "causes widespread injury or damage to persons or property." Amendments also narrowed the definition of "critical infrastructure facility," including by removing highways, bridges, transportation systems, food distribution systems, law enforcement response systems, and financial systems from the definition.
Full text here:
https://le.utah.gov/~2023/bills/static/HB0370.htmlStatus: enacted with improvements
Introduced 3 Feb 2023; Approved by House 14 February 2023; Approved by Senate 28 February 2023; Signed by Governor Cox 14 March 2023
Issue(s): Infrastructure, #TrafficInterference
#FirstAmendment #CriminalizingDissent
#Authoritarianism #Fascism #Clampdown #CriminalizingProtest
#CharacteristicsOfFascism #USPol #AntiProtestLaws #PipelineProtests -
State by State Pending and recently passed #AntiProtestLaws: #Texas
HB 3557: New criminal and civil penalties for protests around #CriticalInfrastructure
Creates new criminal sanctions and expansive civil liability for protests near pipelines and other infrastructure facilities, including those under construction. The law provides for four new criminal offenses. One, "impairing or interrupting operation of critical infrastructure facility," is defined as entering or remaining on facility property and intentionally or knowingly "impair[ing] or interrupt[ing] the operation of" the facility. The act is a state jail felony, punishable by up to two years in jail and a $10,000 fine. This provision could target peaceful protests that, e.g., hinder access to #pipelines or #pipeline construction sites. A second offense, "intent to impair or interrupt critical infrastructure," is defined as entering or remaining on facility property "with the intent to impair or interrupt the operation of the facility." The act is a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by a year in jail and a $4,000 fine. This provision could capture peaceful protests that take place near a pipeline or other infrastructure facility, regardless of whether they actually impair or interrupt the facility's operations. The law also creates two new felony offenses for "damage" and "intent to damage" critical infrastructure. Under the law, an association that is found guilty of any of the offenses around critical infrastructure is subject to a $500,000 fine. The law also creates new civil and vicarious liability for individuals and organizations related to the criminal offenses: A defendant who engages in conduct covered by any of the criminal offenses is civilly liable to the property owner, as is an organization that "knowingly compensates" a person for engaging in the conduct. The property owner may sue for and claim actual damages, court costs, and exemplary damages.
Full text of bill:
https://capitol.texas.gov/BillLookup/History.aspx?LegSess=86R&Bill=HB3557Status: enacted
Introduced 6 Mar 2019; Approved by House 7 May 2019; Approved by Senate 20 May 2019; Signed by Governor Abbott 14 June 2019
Issue(s): Civil Liability, #ProtestSupporters or Funders, Infrastructure
SB 2876: Heightened penalties for protesters who conceal their identity
Would increase criminal penalties that could cover peaceful protesters who choose to wear a mask. Under the bill, a protesters charged with “riot” would face more serious penalties if they were wearing a mask or other face covering with intent to conceal their identity, as compared to someone without a mask. The offense would be a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in jail and $4,000, instead of a Class B misdemeanor. The crime of “riot” under Texas law is defined broadly and does not require violence or other unlawful conduct: The offense covers a group of seven demonstrators whose conduct “substantially obstructs law enforcement or other governmental function or services,” or whose “physical action deprives any person of a legal right or disturbs any person in the enjoyment of a legal right.” Under the bill, a protester who chose to wear a mask to avoid #retaliation for their political views could face significant jail time if their #NonviolentProtest was deemed a “#riot.”
Full text of bill:
https://capitol.texas.gov/BillLookup/History.aspx?LegSess=89R&Bill=SB2876Status: pending
Introduced 14 Mar 2025.
Issue(s): Face Covering, Riot
HB 3061: Heightened penalties for masked protesters
Would increase the penalty for protest-related offenses if committed by someone wearing a mask or other disguise to conceal their identity while “congregating with other individuals who were disguised or masked.” Under the bill, the penalty for trespass, “disorderly conduct,” and “riot” would be one degree more severe if committed by a group in which some individuals wore masks. The bill provides an exemption to the penalty enhancement for masks worn during Halloween, a masquerade ball, or “similar celebration,” but not for avoiding retaliation for political speech. “Disorderly conduct” and “riot” are broadly defined under Texas law. Protesters who make “unreasonable noise” in public, for instance, may be charged with “disorderly conduct”; under the bill, such protesters could face significant jail time rather than a fine if they were masked. “Trespass” in Texas also carries significant penalties if committed on #CollegeCampuses, "critical infrastructure," or other select locations, such that peaceful protesters who trespassed on a college campus could face felony rather than misdemeanor penalties if they were masked to avoid retaliation.
Full text of bill:
https://capitol.texas.gov/BillLookup/History.aspx?LegSess=89R&Bill=HB3061Status: pending
Introduced 19 Feb 2025.
Issue(s): Campus Protests, Face Covering, Infrastructure, Riot, Trespass
#FirstAmendment #CriminalizingDissent
#Authoritarianism #Fascism #Clampdown #CriminalizingProtest
#CharacteristicsOfFascism #USPol #AntiProtestLaws #PipelineProtests #SLAPPs #MaskedProtesters #AntiMaskLaws -
State by State Pending and recently passed #AntiProtestLaws: #NorthDakota
SB 2044: Heightened penalties for #protests near #CriticalInfrastructure
Enhances potential penalties for individuals who protest near existing and planned gas and oil #pipelines by criminalizing acts that interrupt or interfere with critical infrastructure facilities. In addition to prohibiting actual tampering with critical infrastructure property and equipment, the law prohibits "interfering, inhibiting, impeding, or preventing the construction or repair" of a critical infrastructure facility. Further, the law expands the definition of "critical infrastructure facility" to include a "site or location designated or approved for the construction of a facility" such as an oil or gas pipeline. Intentional interruption of a critical infrastructure facility, including by interfering with pipeline construction, is a Class C felony under the law, subject to a penalty of five years' imprisonment, a fine of $10,000, or both. The law also creates organizational liability for such acts: An organization found to have "conspired" with an individual who committed the interference could be criminally liable for ten times the fee imposed on the individual, or up to $100,000.
Status: enacted
Introduced 3 Jan 2019; Approved by Senate 15 Feb 2019; Approved by House 25 March 2019; Signed by Governor Burgum 10 April 2019
Issue(s): Protest Supporters or Funders, Infrastructure
HB 1426: Heightened penalties for #riot offences
Increases the penalties imposed for riot offenses. Under the law, participation in a riot is a Class A rather than Class B misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in prison and a $3,000 fine. Engaging in a riot involving more than 100 people is made a Class B felony, subject to 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine.
Full text of bill [pdf]:
https://ndlegis.gov/assembly/65-2017/documents/17-8158-02000.pdfStatus: enacted
Introduced 16 Jan 2017; Governor Burgum signed the law on 23 Feb 2017
Issue(s): Riot
HB 1293: Expanded scope of criminal trespass
Expands the scope of criminal trespass activity under state law such that it could encompass protests, demonstrations, or other gatherings on private property, if notice against trespass is "clear from the circumstances." The offense could be punishable by up to 30 days in jail and a $1,500 fine. The law also creates an additional, noncriminal trespass offense and allows officers to issue a citation with a $250 fine for trespassing. The law was part of a package of legislation introduced in response to the #DakotaAccessPipeline protests.
Full text of bill [pdf]:
https://ndlegis.gov/assembly/65-2017/documents/17-0650-04000.pdfStatus: enacted
Introduced 12 Jan 2017; Signed by Governor Burgum 23 Feb 2017
Issue(s): Trespass
HB 1304: New penalties for protesters who conceal their identity
Prohibits the wearing of #masks, #hoods, or other device that "conceals any portion" of an individual's face while committing a criminal offense, in order to avoid recognition or identification. As drafted, the offense could encompass, e.g., individuals wearing hooded clothing while participating in a protest and also committing a minor offense such as jaywalking. Under the law, commission of the offense comprises a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in jail and a $3,000 fine.
Full text of bill [pdf]:
https://ndlegis.gov/assembly/65-2017/documents/17-0311-04000.pdfStatus: enacted
Introduced 12 Jan 2017; Governor Burgum signed it 23 Feb 2017
Issue(s): Face Covering
HB 1226: New criminal penalties for masked protesters
Would create a new criminal offense that could cover peaceful protesters who choose to wear a mask. The bill would make it a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in jail and $3,000, to wear a mask “with intent to conceal the identity” of the wearer while “congregating in a public place with any other individual wearing a mask, hood, or other device that covers, hides, or conceals any portion of the individual’s face.” The bill exempts public gatherings to celebrate “Halloween, a masquerade, or other similar celebration,” but does not include exemptions for masks worn during protests, or for health, religious, or other reasons. As written, the bill could cover a protester wearing a mask to avoid retaliation for their political speech, if there were any other individual in the crowd also wearing a mask—for instance, a medical mask to avoid spreading or contracting a contagious disease.
Full text of bill:
https://ndlegis.gov/assembly/69-2025/regular/bill-overview/bo1226.html?bill_year=2025&bill_number=1226Status: ENACTED!
Introduced 13 Jan 2025; Approved by House 10 February 2025
Issue(s): Face Covering
#FirstAmendment #CriminalizingDissent
#Authoritarianism #Fascism #Clampdown #CriminalizingProtest
#CharacteristicsOfFascism #USPol #AntiProtestLaws #PipelineProtests #MaskedProtesters #AntiMaskLaws #SurveillanceState #PipelineProtests #NoDAPL -
State by State Pending and recently passed #AntiProtestLaws: #NorthCarolina
HB 237: Heightened penalties for street #protesters and #MaskedProtestersIncreases penalties for protesters who block #traffic and for masked protesters who break any law. The law makes it a Class A1 misdemeanor, punishable by up to 150 days in jail and a fine, to willfully impede traffic while participating in a demonstration on a street or highway. Second and subsequent offenses would be a Class H felony, punishable by up to 25 months in prison. Under the law, “organizers” of street protests can be held civilly liable for any injury resulting from delays caused by the obstruction of an emergency vehicle. The law does not define “organizer,” such that anyone involved in the planning of a protest might be covered, nor does it require that the “organizer” have any intent or knowledge that an emergency vehicle would be obstructed. Additionally, the law narrows the health-related exception to North Carolina’s ban on wearing masks in public, requiring that a mask worn for health or safety reasons must be a “medical or surgical grade” mask worn “to prevent[] the spread of contagious disease.” The law broadens the authority of law enforcement and third parties to require someone to remove their masks in such cases. Under the law, someone convicted of any offense, including nonviolent protest-related offenses, can face steeper punishment if they were wearing a mask or other face covering at the time, regardless of the reason for doing so. The bill’s sponsor cited recent #ProPalestine protests on college campuses, in which some protesters have worn masks.
Full text of bill:
https://www.ncleg.gov/BillLookUp/2023/h237Status: enacted
Introduced 7 May 2024; Approved by Senate 15 May 2024; Approved by House 11 June 2024; Vetoed by Governor Cooper 21 June 2024; Veto overridden 27 June 2024
Issue(s): Civil Liability, Face Covering, Traffic Interference
HB 40: HEIGHTENED PENALTIES FOR "RIOT" AND RELATED OFFENSES
Increases the penalty for an individual who "incites or urges another to engage in a riot," if a riot occurs and results in $1,500 of property damage or injury. In such a case, the individual is guilty of a Class E felony, punishable by more than two years in prison, even if they did not personally cause any damage or injury. Under the law, an individual convicted of "riot" or incitement offenses is also civilly liable to anyone whose property or person was damaged by the riot, in the amount of three times the actual damage in addition to court costs and attorney’s fees. Preexisting North Carolina law defines riot to include a "public disturbance" by a group of three or more people that presents an "imminent threat of disorderly and violent conduct," resulting in a "clear and present danger" of property damage or injury. Under this definition, no violence or damage need occur for participants in a gathering to be arrested for and charged with "riot." While the new law would add a limitation requiring an “overt act” in order for someone to be convicted of a #riot or incitement to riot offense, that requirement could be read broadly to include #PeacefulChanting or #marching with a crowd that is deemed to be a “riot.” Finally, the law requires that a judge, rather than another judicial official, determine the pretrial release of an individual charged with a riot offense. The judge may hold the individual for 24 hours, and may require that they stay away from places where the "riot" occurred. The text of HB 40 is nearly identical to the amended version of HB 805 that passed both the North Carolina House and Senate in 2021 before being vetoed by the Governor.
Full text of bill:
https://www.ncleg.gov/BillLookUp/2023/h40Status: enacted
Introduced 1 Feb 2023; Approved by House 8 February 2023; Approved by Senate 9 March 2023; Became law without Governor Cooper's signature 21 March 2023
Issue(s): Civil Liability, Riot
SB 58: New penalties for protests near #pipelines
Introduces new potential criminal penalties and civil liability for peaceful protests near existing and planned pipelines and other energy infrastructure. The enacted version of the law makes it a Class C felony offense to knowingly and willfully “obstruct, impede, or impair” or “attempt to obstruct, impede, or impair” the services of an energy facility. The law defines “energy facility” to include any facility involved in the transmission of “electricity, fuel, or another form or source of energy,” including facilities that are under construction or otherwise not functioning. As such, a group of people protesting the construction of a fossil fuel pipeline could face more than 15 years in prison and a mandatory $250,000 fine if they impede or impair the construction of a pipeline, for instance by blocking workers’ access to the pipeline construction site. Under the law, such protesters, along with anyone who “aides or abets, solicits, conspires, or lends material support” to their act of impeding construction could also be sued in civil court by someone whose property was damaged, for an amount equivalent to three times the actual damage as well as court costs and attorneys' fees.
Full text of bill:
https://www.ncleg.gov/BillLookUp/2023/S58Status: enacted
Introduced 1 Feb 2023; Approved by Senate 14 March 2023; Approved by House 14 June 2023; Signed by Governor Cooper 19 June 2023
Issue(s): Civil Liability, #ProtestSupporters or Funders, #Infrastructure
SB 300: Heightened penalties for "riot"
**Note: This bill was later amended to remove all riot provisions except the increased penalties** Would increase the penalty for engaging in a "riot," from a Class 1 misdemeanor to a Class H felony, punishable by 25 months in prison. If the "riot" resulted in property damage of over $1,500, or serious injury, anyone deemed to have engaged in the "riot" (regardless of their role in the damage or injury) could be convicted of a Class G felony, punishable by 31 months in prison. The bill would not alter North Carolina's broad definition of "riot," which does not require any actual violence or destructive activity. Under the bill, peaceful protesters in a group of three or more who present an "imminent threat of disorderly and violent conduct" that "creates a clear and present danger" of property damage or injury could face felony convictions and lengthy prison sentences. Note: A later amendment eliminated the proposed increase in penalty for engaging in a "riot." It also eliminated the proposal to make it a Class G felony for engaging in a riot that resulted in property damage over $1,500 or serious bodily injury. Instead, it replaced that proposal by making it a Class G felony if during the course of a riot a person caused over $1,500 in property damage or a Class F felony if the person during the course of a riot caused serious bodily injury or brandished a dangerous weapon or substance. It also clarified that "mere presence alone without an overt act" is not sufficient to sustain a conviction of rioting. (See full text of bill here)
Status: enacted with improvements
Introduced 15 Mar 2021; Approved by Senate 12 May 2021; Approved by House 18 August 2021; Signed by Governor Cooper 2 September 2021
Issue(s): Riot
#FirstAmendment #CriminalizingDissent
#Authoritarianism #Fascism #Clampdown #CriminalizingProtest
#CharacteristicsOfFascism #USPol #AntiProtestLaws #PipelineProtests #MaskedProtesters #AntiMaskLaws #SurveillanceState #PipelineProtests -
State by State Pending and recently passed #AntiProtestLaws: #NewYork
S 6746: New penalties for protesters who wear a #mask
Would create a new criminal offense, “concealment of identity during a protest,” that would cover peaceful protesters who wear a mask while demonstrating. Under the bill, a person who wears a mask or facial covering that disguises their face “so as to conceal the identity of the wearer” while “involved in a lawful assembly, unlawful assembly, protest, or riot” commits the offense. The bill provides an exception for masks and other face coverings worn as protection from weather, for religious reasons, for medical purposes, or as a costume for a holiday or exhibition. While only a violation, the new offense would restrict individuals’ ability to protest lawfully while remaining anonymous, for instance to avoid retaliation.
Full text of bill:
https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2025/S6746
Status: pendingIntroduced 21 Mar 2025.
Issue(s): #FaceCovering, Riot
S 5911: Heightened penalties for #riot and incitement to riot
Would enhance the penalties for first and second degree "riot" as well as "incitement to riot." Under New York law, "incitement to riot" is broadly defined, and could cover a person or organization found to have "urged" a group of people to protest in a "tumultuous and violent" way that is “likely to create public alarm”—regardless of whether such protest ever takes place or creates “public alarm.” The bill would make the offense a Class E felony, punishable by up to four years in prison, instead of a Class A misdemeanor.
Full text of bill:
https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2025/S5911Status: pending
Introduced 3 Mar 2025.
Issue(s): Riot
S 723: New criminal penalties for masked protesters
Would create two new crimes that could apply to masked protesters and people who support them. Under the bill, a person who is masked or “disguised by unusual or unnatural attire or facial alteration,” who engages in a protest or other public assembly with other masked or disguised people, commits the offense of “deceptive wearing of a mask,” a Class B misdemeanor punishable by up to 90 days in jail. The offense would likewise apply to anyone who “knowingly permits or aids” masked demonstrators who congregate in public. The offense does not require that an individual act unlawfully or have any intent to engage in unlawful behavior. A second offense, “aggravated deceptive wearing of a mask,” would apply to masked or disguised individuals engaged in a public assembly where property damage or injuries occur; the offense would be a Class A misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail. (As drafted, the bill does not make clear whether an individual need personally cause the damage or injury, or merely be part of a group where such damage or injury occurs, to commit the offense.) The bill provides exemptions for masks or disguises worn for religious purposes, or in connection with a government-authorized “masquerade party or like entertainment.” If enacted, the bill would give law enforcement broad discretion to arrest individuals who wear masks or other disguise at a public protest, as well as anyone who seemed to be “aiding” them. The same bill was introduced as S 9194 in the 2023-2024 session.
Full text of bill:
https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2025/S723Status: pending
Introduced 8 Jan 2025.
Issue(s): Protest Supporters or Funders, Face Covering
S 534: New penalties for protesters who block #traffic
Would create a new criminal offense that could cover #UnpermittedProtests and #demonstrations on #streets, #sidewalks, or near public buildings. According to the bill, a person participating in a protest without a permit who “obstructs” cars or pedestrians, or prevents people from entering or exiting buildings, commits a new offense of “aggravated disorderly conduct” if they intend “to cause public inconvenience, annoyance or alarm” or are “recklessly creating a risk thereof.” The offense would be a class A misdemeanor, punishable by one year in jail and $1,000. As written, an individual in a spontaneous protest that blocks a sidewalk, “recklessly creating a risk” of inconveniencing people, would be guilty of the offense. The bill would also add the offense to the underlying offenses that can be charged as a hate crime under New York law, and allow individuals arrested for the offense to be held for bail. The same bill was introduced as S 8646 in 2024.
Full text of bill:
https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2025/S534Status: pending
Introduced 8 Jan 2025.
Issue(s): #TrafficInterference
#FirstAmendment #CriminalizingDissent
#Authoritarianism #Fascism #Clampdown #CriminalizingProtest
#CharacteristicsOfFascism #USPol #AntiProtestLaws #PipelineProtests #MaskedProtesters #AntiMaskLaws -
State by State Pending and recently passed #AntiProtestLaws: #NewJersey - part 2
S 399 / A 4714: EXPANDED "RIOT" DEFINITION, NEW PENALTIES FOR "INCITEMENT TO RIOT", AND NEW LEGAL DEFENSE FOR PEOPLE WHO HURT PROTESTERS
Would expand the legal definition of "#riot," a third degree offense under the bill, to include any group of three or more individuals whose shared intent to engage in disorderly and violent conduct results in "imminent danger" of property damage or personal injury, or actual damage or injury. Notably, the new definition does not require that the individuals' conduct be disorderly or violent, or that they commit any actual damage or injury. Under the bill, a "riot" consisting of 25 or more people, or one that "endangers the safe movement of a vehicle," is automatically an "aggravated riot," a new crime of the second degree under the bill. As such, large groups of protesters or ones that block traffic, even temporarily, could face up to 10 years in prison, a fine of up to $150,000, or both. Under the bill, "inciting" someone to participate in a riot is a crime of the third degree, punishable by 5 years in prison. "Aggravated incitement," which results if there is property damage over $5,000 is a crime of the second degree, punishable by up to 10 years in prison. The bill also creates a new criminal offense of "mob intimidation," defined as a group of three or more people who act with a "common intent" to compel "or attempt to compel" another person to "do or refrain from doing any act," or "assume, abandon, or maintain a particular viewpoint" against their will. The offense is punishable by up to 6 months in jail and a $1,000 fine. The bill could also encourage violence against protesters by creating a new affirmative defense in civil lawsuits for personal injury, death, or property damage, such that a defendant could avoid liability by establishing that the injury, death, or damage they committed "arose from" conduct by someone "acting in furtherance of a riot." Finally, the bill creates a new civil right of action against a municipal government that fails to provide "respond appropriately to protect persons and property during a riot or unlawful assembly," making them civilly liable for damages, including personal injury or property damage. These provisions, if enacted, could encourage municipal governments to adopt overly aggressive law enforcement responses to protests in order to avoid lawsuits. The same bill was proposed as S3992 in the 2020-2021 session, and as S1206 in the 2022-2023 session.
Full text of bill:
https://www.njleg.state.nj.us/bill-search/2024/S399Status: pending
Introduced 9 Jan 2024.
Issue(s): Driver Immunity, Riot, Traffic Interference, State Liability, Stand Your Ground
#FirstAmendment #CriminalizingDissent
#Authoritarianism #Fascism #Clampdown #CriminalizingProtest
#CharacteristicsOfFascism #USPol #AntiProtestLaws #DrivingDownProtestors #DriverImmunity #HeatherHeyer -
State by State Pending and recently passed #AntiProtestLaws: #NewJersey - part 2
S 399 / A 4714: EXPANDED "RIOT" DEFINITION, NEW PENALTIES FOR "INCITEMENT TO RIOT", AND NEW LEGAL DEFENSE FOR PEOPLE WHO HURT PROTESTERS
Would expand the legal definition of "#riot," a third degree offense under the bill, to include any group of three or more individuals whose shared intent to engage in disorderly and violent conduct results in "imminent danger" of property damage or personal injury, or actual damage or injury. Notably, the new definition does not require that the individuals' conduct be disorderly or violent, or that they commit any actual damage or injury. Under the bill, a "riot" consisting of 25 or more people, or one that "endangers the safe movement of a vehicle," is automatically an "aggravated riot," a new crime of the second degree under the bill. As such, large groups of protesters or ones that block traffic, even temporarily, could face up to 10 years in prison, a fine of up to $150,000, or both. Under the bill, "inciting" someone to participate in a riot is a crime of the third degree, punishable by 5 years in prison. "Aggravated incitement," which results if there is property damage over $5,000 is a crime of the second degree, punishable by up to 10 years in prison. The bill also creates a new criminal offense of "mob intimidation," defined as a group of three or more people who act with a "common intent" to compel "or attempt to compel" another person to "do or refrain from doing any act," or "assume, abandon, or maintain a particular viewpoint" against their will. The offense is punishable by up to 6 months in jail and a $1,000 fine. The bill could also encourage violence against protesters by creating a new affirmative defense in civil lawsuits for personal injury, death, or property damage, such that a defendant could avoid liability by establishing that the injury, death, or damage they committed "arose from" conduct by someone "acting in furtherance of a riot." Finally, the bill creates a new civil right of action against a municipal government that fails to provide "respond appropriately to protect persons and property during a riot or unlawful assembly," making them civilly liable for damages, including personal injury or property damage. These provisions, if enacted, could encourage municipal governments to adopt overly aggressive law enforcement responses to protests in order to avoid lawsuits. The same bill was proposed as S3992 in the 2020-2021 session, and as S1206 in the 2022-2023 session.
Full text of bill:
https://www.njleg.state.nj.us/bill-search/2024/S399Status: pending
Introduced 9 Jan 2024.
Issue(s): Driver Immunity, Riot, Traffic Interference, State Liability, Stand Your Ground
#FirstAmendment #CriminalizingDissent
#Authoritarianism #Fascism #Clampdown #CriminalizingProtest
#CharacteristicsOfFascism #USPol #AntiProtestLaws #DrivingDownProtestors #DriverImmunity #HeatherHeyer -
State by State Pending and recently passed #AntiProtestLaws: #NewJersey - part 2
S 399 / A 4714: EXPANDED "RIOT" DEFINITION, NEW PENALTIES FOR "INCITEMENT TO RIOT", AND NEW LEGAL DEFENSE FOR PEOPLE WHO HURT PROTESTERS
Would expand the legal definition of "#riot," a third degree offense under the bill, to include any group of three or more individuals whose shared intent to engage in disorderly and violent conduct results in "imminent danger" of property damage or personal injury, or actual damage or injury. Notably, the new definition does not require that the individuals' conduct be disorderly or violent, or that they commit any actual damage or injury. Under the bill, a "riot" consisting of 25 or more people, or one that "endangers the safe movement of a vehicle," is automatically an "aggravated riot," a new crime of the second degree under the bill. As such, large groups of protesters or ones that block traffic, even temporarily, could face up to 10 years in prison, a fine of up to $150,000, or both. Under the bill, "inciting" someone to participate in a riot is a crime of the third degree, punishable by 5 years in prison. "Aggravated incitement," which results if there is property damage over $5,000 is a crime of the second degree, punishable by up to 10 years in prison. The bill also creates a new criminal offense of "mob intimidation," defined as a group of three or more people who act with a "common intent" to compel "or attempt to compel" another person to "do or refrain from doing any act," or "assume, abandon, or maintain a particular viewpoint" against their will. The offense is punishable by up to 6 months in jail and a $1,000 fine. The bill could also encourage violence against protesters by creating a new affirmative defense in civil lawsuits for personal injury, death, or property damage, such that a defendant could avoid liability by establishing that the injury, death, or damage they committed "arose from" conduct by someone "acting in furtherance of a riot." Finally, the bill creates a new civil right of action against a municipal government that fails to provide "respond appropriately to protect persons and property during a riot or unlawful assembly," making them civilly liable for damages, including personal injury or property damage. These provisions, if enacted, could encourage municipal governments to adopt overly aggressive law enforcement responses to protests in order to avoid lawsuits. The same bill was proposed as S3992 in the 2020-2021 session, and as S1206 in the 2022-2023 session.
Full text of bill:
https://www.njleg.state.nj.us/bill-search/2024/S399Status: pending
Introduced 9 Jan 2024.
Issue(s): Driver Immunity, Riot, Traffic Interference, State Liability, Stand Your Ground
#FirstAmendment #CriminalizingDissent
#Authoritarianism #Fascism #Clampdown #CriminalizingProtest
#CharacteristicsOfFascism #USPol #AntiProtestLaws #DrivingDownProtestors #DriverImmunity #HeatherHeyer -
State by State Pending and recently passed #AntiProtestLaws: #NewJersey - part 2
S 399 / A 4714: EXPANDED "RIOT" DEFINITION, NEW PENALTIES FOR "INCITEMENT TO RIOT", AND NEW LEGAL DEFENSE FOR PEOPLE WHO HURT PROTESTERS
Would expand the legal definition of "#riot," a third degree offense under the bill, to include any group of three or more individuals whose shared intent to engage in disorderly and violent conduct results in "imminent danger" of property damage or personal injury, or actual damage or injury. Notably, the new definition does not require that the individuals' conduct be disorderly or violent, or that they commit any actual damage or injury. Under the bill, a "riot" consisting of 25 or more people, or one that "endangers the safe movement of a vehicle," is automatically an "aggravated riot," a new crime of the second degree under the bill. As such, large groups of protesters or ones that block traffic, even temporarily, could face up to 10 years in prison, a fine of up to $150,000, or both. Under the bill, "inciting" someone to participate in a riot is a crime of the third degree, punishable by 5 years in prison. "Aggravated incitement," which results if there is property damage over $5,000 is a crime of the second degree, punishable by up to 10 years in prison. The bill also creates a new criminal offense of "mob intimidation," defined as a group of three or more people who act with a "common intent" to compel "or attempt to compel" another person to "do or refrain from doing any act," or "assume, abandon, or maintain a particular viewpoint" against their will. The offense is punishable by up to 6 months in jail and a $1,000 fine. The bill could also encourage violence against protesters by creating a new affirmative defense in civil lawsuits for personal injury, death, or property damage, such that a defendant could avoid liability by establishing that the injury, death, or damage they committed "arose from" conduct by someone "acting in furtherance of a riot." Finally, the bill creates a new civil right of action against a municipal government that fails to provide "respond appropriately to protect persons and property during a riot or unlawful assembly," making them civilly liable for damages, including personal injury or property damage. These provisions, if enacted, could encourage municipal governments to adopt overly aggressive law enforcement responses to protests in order to avoid lawsuits. The same bill was proposed as S3992 in the 2020-2021 session, and as S1206 in the 2022-2023 session.
Full text of bill:
https://www.njleg.state.nj.us/bill-search/2024/S399Status: pending
Introduced 9 Jan 2024.
Issue(s): Driver Immunity, Riot, Traffic Interference, State Liability, Stand Your Ground
#FirstAmendment #CriminalizingDissent
#Authoritarianism #Fascism #Clampdown #CriminalizingProtest
#CharacteristicsOfFascism #USPol #AntiProtestLaws #DrivingDownProtestors #DriverImmunity #HeatherHeyer -
State by State Pending and recently passed #AntiProtestLaws: #NewJersey - part 2
S 399 / A 4714: EXPANDED "RIOT" DEFINITION, NEW PENALTIES FOR "INCITEMENT TO RIOT", AND NEW LEGAL DEFENSE FOR PEOPLE WHO HURT PROTESTERS
Would expand the legal definition of "#riot," a third degree offense under the bill, to include any group of three or more individuals whose shared intent to engage in disorderly and violent conduct results in "imminent danger" of property damage or personal injury, or actual damage or injury. Notably, the new definition does not require that the individuals' conduct be disorderly or violent, or that they commit any actual damage or injury. Under the bill, a "riot" consisting of 25 or more people, or one that "endangers the safe movement of a vehicle," is automatically an "aggravated riot," a new crime of the second degree under the bill. As such, large groups of protesters or ones that block traffic, even temporarily, could face up to 10 years in prison, a fine of up to $150,000, or both. Under the bill, "inciting" someone to participate in a riot is a crime of the third degree, punishable by 5 years in prison. "Aggravated incitement," which results if there is property damage over $5,000 is a crime of the second degree, punishable by up to 10 years in prison. The bill also creates a new criminal offense of "mob intimidation," defined as a group of three or more people who act with a "common intent" to compel "or attempt to compel" another person to "do or refrain from doing any act," or "assume, abandon, or maintain a particular viewpoint" against their will. The offense is punishable by up to 6 months in jail and a $1,000 fine. The bill could also encourage violence against protesters by creating a new affirmative defense in civil lawsuits for personal injury, death, or property damage, such that a defendant could avoid liability by establishing that the injury, death, or damage they committed "arose from" conduct by someone "acting in furtherance of a riot." Finally, the bill creates a new civil right of action against a municipal government that fails to provide "respond appropriately to protect persons and property during a riot or unlawful assembly," making them civilly liable for damages, including personal injury or property damage. These provisions, if enacted, could encourage municipal governments to adopt overly aggressive law enforcement responses to protests in order to avoid lawsuits. The same bill was proposed as S3992 in the 2020-2021 session, and as S1206 in the 2022-2023 session.
Full text of bill:
https://www.njleg.state.nj.us/bill-search/2024/S399Status: pending
Introduced 9 Jan 2024.
Issue(s): Driver Immunity, Riot, Traffic Interference, State Liability, Stand Your Ground
#FirstAmendment #CriminalizingDissent
#Authoritarianism #Fascism #Clampdown #CriminalizingProtest
#CharacteristicsOfFascism #USPol #AntiProtestLaws #DrivingDownProtestors #DriverImmunity #HeatherHeyer -
State by State Pending and recently passed #AntiProtestLaws: #NewJersey - part 1
S 3578: New Penalties for Protesters Who Conceal Their Identity
Would create a new disorderly persons offense "for a person, while congregating in a public place with other people who are also masked or disguised, to wear any mask or other facial obscurant or disguise with the purpose to conceal the person's identity while committing another crime or offense." The bill creates exemptions for activities related to Halloween, the weather, religious beliefs, medical purposes, or a public parade of an educational, religious, or historical character. However, it does not create an exemption for protests. As such, one engaged in identical conduct during a Halloween celebration and a protest would not face criminal liability under this proposed offense during the Halloween celebration, but could face criminal liability under this proposed offense during a demonstration. The penalty under the bill is up to 6 months in jail and a $1,000 fine.
Full bill text:
https://www.njleg.state.nj.us/bill-search/2024/S3578Status: pending
Introduced 19 Sep 2024.
Issue(s): Face Covering
A 4652 / S 3507: New penalties for protest organizers and supporters, “disruptive” protesters, and protesters who wear masks
Would create serious new penalties that could cover protest organizers and others who “promote” protests. The bill creates a new offense of “inciting a public brawl,” broadly defined to cover someone who “acts with purpose to organize or promote” a group of four or more people to engage in “disorderly conduct.” But under New Jersey law, “disorderly conduct” is defined to include “tumultuous conduct” that might “create a risk” of “public inconvenience”—language that can cover peaceful protest activity and is often used to arrest and charge demonstrators. As such, the “inciting a public brawl” offense, which incorporates “disorderly conduct,” could cover a range of activity related to facilitating a peaceful demonstration, particularly as the bill does not define “organizing” or “promoting.” The offense is a serious misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail and $1,000. If the “organizers” or “promoter” acts with purpose “to disrupt or cause a disturbance at a public gathering or event” or “knowing that such a disruption or disturbance is likely to occur,” it is a felony, punishable by up to 18 months in prison and $10,000. The bill does not require that such “disturbance” be more than fleeting in duration or that it otherwise meaningfully interfere with the public event. As such, the felony offense would seemingly cover someone who shares a social media post about a large street protest, knowing that it may even briefly “disturb” a public event taking place nearby. Under the bill, participants in such a protest would face heightened penalties as well, as the bill increases penalties for someone who engages in “disorderly conduct” “with purpose to disrupt or cause a disturbance at a public gathering or event.” Finally, the bill increases penalties for someone who engages in “disorderly conduct” while concealing or attempting to conceal their identity “with purpose to hinder prosecution or avoid apprehension.” In both cases “disorderly conduct” would be a serious rather than petty offense, punishable by up to six months in jail and $1,000.
Full text of bill:
https://www.njleg.state.nj.us/bill-search/2024/A4652Status: pending
Introduced 25 Jun 2024; Approved by Assembly 27 February 2025; Approved by Senate 24 March 2025
Issue(s): Protest Supporters or Funders, Face Covering
S 3103: Heightened penalties for blocking traffic
Would increase penalties for impeding traffic on public roads. Under the bill, “recklessly obstruct[ing]” any public road would be a more serious misdemeanor than under current law, punishable by up to six months in jail and $1,000. The bill would additionally create a new felony offense for anyone who purposefully obstructs or “affects” the movement of any commerce on a public road. The new offense would be punishable by up to 18 months in prison and $10,000. As such, protesters who peacefully demonstrate in a public road and even temporarily “affect” commercial vehicles could face felony charges.
Full text of bill:
https://www.njleg.state.nj.us/bill-search/2024/S3103Status: pending
Introduced 15 Apr 2024.
Issue(s): Traffic Interference
S 834 / A 3489: NEW PENALTIES FOR BLOCKING TRAFFIC AND OTHER PROTEST-ADJACENT CONDUCT
Would make it a felony offense to purposely or recklessly obstruct a public road while engaging in "disorderly conduct" or a "riot," punishable by up to a year and a half in prison and a $10,000 fine. Both "disorderly conduct" and "riot" are defined broadly under New Jersey law: "Disorderly conduct," for instance, could include "recklessly creating a risk of public inconvenience" by causing a "hazardous condition," or using "unreasonably loud and offensively coarse" language in a public place. The bill would also broaden the definition of "riot," such that a group of five or more people who engage in "disorderly conduct" and cause any damage to property or persons could face riot charges, a felony punishable by up to five years in prison and $15,000. Individuals who deface a monument during an unruly protest would also face heightened penalties under the bill: Current law penalizes defacing or damaging any public monument or structure as a disorderly persons offense, subject to six months in jail. The bill would make the same offense a felony punishable by a year and a half in prison and $10,000, if committed during a "riot." The bill would create new sanctions for protest organizers and patrons, as well: Under the bill, a person who "conspires with others as an organizer, supervisor, financier or manager to commit" one of a number of crimes during a protest would be guilty of "promotion of violent, disorderly assembly" and face enhanced criminal penalties. The text was introduced as S3261 during the 2020-2021 session, and as S1783/A4577 during the 2022-2023 session.
Full text of bill:
https://www.njleg.state.nj.us/bill-search/2024/S834Status: pending
Introduced 9 Jan 2024.
Issue(s): Protest Supporters or Funders, Riot, Traffic Interference
S 652 / A 4610: HEIGHTENED PENALTIES FOR BLOCKING TRAFFIC, RIOT, DISORDERLY CONDUCT, AND RELATED OFFENSES
Would make it a felony offense to purposely or recklessly obstruct a public road while engaging in "disorderly conduct" or a "riot," punishable by up to 18 months in prison and a $10,000 fine. Both "disorderly conduct" and "riot" are defined broadly under New Jersey law: "Disorderly conduct," for instance, could include "recklessly creating a risk" of "public inconvenience" by causing a "hazardous condition," or using "unreasonably loud and offensively coarse" language in a public place. The bill would also broaden the definition of "riot," such that a group of seven or more people who engage in "disorderly conduct" and cause any damage to property could face riot charges, a felony punishable by up to five years in prison and $15,000. The bill would create a new felony offense for disorderly conduct in a "place of public accommodation" that is committed during a "riot." It would also establish a felony offense for chalking or using graffiti on a public monument during an unruly protest: Current law penalizes purposely defacing or damaging any public monument or structure as a disorderly persons offense, subject to six months in jail. The bill would make the same offense a felony punishable by a year and a half in prison and $10,000, if committed during a "riot." The same bill was proposed as S84/A456 in the 2022-2023 session.
Full text of bill:
https://www.njleg.state.nj.us/bill-search/2024/S652Status: pending
Introduced 9 Jan 2024.
Issue(s): #Riot, #TrafficInterference
#FirstAmendment #CriminalizingDissent
#Authoritarianism #Fascism #Clampdown #CriminalizingProtest
#CharacteristicsOfFascism #USPol #AntiProtestLaws #PipelineProtests #MaskedProtesters #AntiMaskLaws -
State by State Pending and recently passed #AntiProtestLaws: #Missouri
HB 355: New penalties for protests near gas and oil #pipelines
Creates new potential penalties for protests near gas and oil pipelines and other "critical infrastructure." The law--which was substituted by a Missouri Senate committee for a House bill on sentencing guidelines--heightens the penalties for trespass occurring on critical infrastructure property. Trespass with intent "to damage, destroy, vandalize, deface, [or] tamper with" a facility or intent to "impede or inhibit the operations" of a facility is a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by one year in jail and a $2,000 fine. Protesters seeking to peacefully demonstrate against construction of a new pipeline, for instance, with the intent to disrupt that construction, could be prosecuted under the law. The law also newly criminalizes "damage" to critical infrastructure, broadly defined to include vandalism, and makes it a Class C felony, punishable by 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine. The law also newly and broadly defines "critical infrastructure" to include oil and gas pipelines, refineries, cell phone towers, and railroad tracks whether operational or under construction.
Full text of bill: https://house.mo.gov/Bill.aspx?bill=HB355&year=2019&code=RStatus: enacted
Introduced 18 Apr 2019; Approved by Senate as amended 17 May 2019; Approved by House 17 May 2019; Signed by Governor Parson on 11 July 2019Issue(s): Infrastructure, Trespass
HB 1413: Limiting #PublicEmployees' ability to picket
***Note: A Judge of the Circuit Court of St. Louis County found HB 1413 unconstitutional in its entirety and granted a permanent injunction against the enforcement of the law on January 27, 2020. ***
Bars certain public employees from picketing. The law requires that all labor agreements negotiated between a "public body" and a labor organization "shall expressly prohibit all strikes and picketing of any kind." The law further mandates that such agreements provide for the "immediate termination" of "any public employee who...pickets over any personnel matter." "Public body" is broadly defined in the law to include "the state of Missouri, or any officer, agency, department, bureau, division, board or commission of the state, or any other political subdivision or special district of or within the state"; accordingly, the law may apply to many labor agreements. While "picketing" is not defined under the law, Missouri Code elsewhere refers to "picketing or other organized protests" as "constitutionally protected activity," indicating that picketing as used in HB 1413 includes protests and demonstrations unrelated to labor strikes.
Full text of bill: https://house.mo.gov/bill.aspx?bill=HB1413&year=2018&code=RStatus: enacted
Introduced 3 Jan 2018; Approved by House 12 February 2018; approved by Senate 16 May 2018; Signed by Governor Greitens 1 June 2018
HB 601: Heightened penalties for #masked #protestersWould increase the penalty for any offense if committed by someone wearing a mask or other device that concealed their identity. The bill does not require that someone intended to conceal their identity in order to facilitate a crime. The bill also does not provide exemptions for masks worn for medical or any other purpose, nor does it limit the enhanced penalties to violent crimes. As such, a peaceful protester who committed a nonviolent offense while wearing a mask—whether a medical mask to avoid contagion, a mask to avoid retaliation for their political speech, or a mask worn for any other reason—could face steep penalties. For instance, peaceful demonstrators in Missouri may be charged with “disturbing the peace,” a minor misdemeanor, if they make too much noise or obstruct a sidewalk or road in the course of a protest. Under the bill, a masked protester charged with that offense could face up to one year in jail and $2,000 for the first offense and a felony penalties (up to four years in prison and $10,000) for subsequent offenses.
Full text of bill: https://house.mo.gov/Bill.aspx?bill=HB601&year=2025&code=RStatus: pending
Introduced 8 Jan 2025.
Issue(s): Face Covering#FirstAmendment #CriminalizingDissent
#Authoritarianism #Fascism #Clampdown #CriminalizingProtest
#CharacteristicsOfFascism #USPol #AntiProtestLaws #PipelineProtests #AntiMaskLaws #HeatherHeyer #UniteTheRight #DrivingDownProtestors -
State by State Pending and recently passed #AntiProtestLaws: #Missouri
HB 355: New penalties for protests near gas and oil #pipelines
Creates new potential penalties for protests near gas and oil pipelines and other "critical infrastructure." The law--which was substituted by a Missouri Senate committee for a House bill on sentencing guidelines--heightens the penalties for trespass occurring on critical infrastructure property. Trespass with intent "to damage, destroy, vandalize, deface, [or] tamper with" a facility or intent to "impede or inhibit the operations" of a facility is a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by one year in jail and a $2,000 fine. Protesters seeking to peacefully demonstrate against construction of a new pipeline, for instance, with the intent to disrupt that construction, could be prosecuted under the law. The law also newly criminalizes "damage" to critical infrastructure, broadly defined to include vandalism, and makes it a Class C felony, punishable by 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine. The law also newly and broadly defines "critical infrastructure" to include oil and gas pipelines, refineries, cell phone towers, and railroad tracks whether operational or under construction.
Full text of bill: https://house.mo.gov/Bill.aspx?bill=HB355&year=2019&code=RStatus: enacted
Introduced 18 Apr 2019; Approved by Senate as amended 17 May 2019; Approved by House 17 May 2019; Signed by Governor Parson on 11 July 2019Issue(s): Infrastructure, Trespass
HB 1413: Limiting #PublicEmployees' ability to picket
***Note: A Judge of the Circuit Court of St. Louis County found HB 1413 unconstitutional in its entirety and granted a permanent injunction against the enforcement of the law on January 27, 2020. ***
Bars certain public employees from picketing. The law requires that all labor agreements negotiated between a "public body" and a labor organization "shall expressly prohibit all strikes and picketing of any kind." The law further mandates that such agreements provide for the "immediate termination" of "any public employee who...pickets over any personnel matter." "Public body" is broadly defined in the law to include "the state of Missouri, or any officer, agency, department, bureau, division, board or commission of the state, or any other political subdivision or special district of or within the state"; accordingly, the law may apply to many labor agreements. While "picketing" is not defined under the law, Missouri Code elsewhere refers to "picketing or other organized protests" as "constitutionally protected activity," indicating that picketing as used in HB 1413 includes protests and demonstrations unrelated to labor strikes.
Full text of bill: https://house.mo.gov/bill.aspx?bill=HB1413&year=2018&code=RStatus: enacted
Introduced 3 Jan 2018; Approved by House 12 February 2018; approved by Senate 16 May 2018; Signed by Governor Greitens 1 June 2018
HB 601: Heightened penalties for #masked #protestersWould increase the penalty for any offense if committed by someone wearing a mask or other device that concealed their identity. The bill does not require that someone intended to conceal their identity in order to facilitate a crime. The bill also does not provide exemptions for masks worn for medical or any other purpose, nor does it limit the enhanced penalties to violent crimes. As such, a peaceful protester who committed a nonviolent offense while wearing a mask—whether a medical mask to avoid contagion, a mask to avoid retaliation for their political speech, or a mask worn for any other reason—could face steep penalties. For instance, peaceful demonstrators in Missouri may be charged with “disturbing the peace,” a minor misdemeanor, if they make too much noise or obstruct a sidewalk or road in the course of a protest. Under the bill, a masked protester charged with that offense could face up to one year in jail and $2,000 for the first offense and a felony penalties (up to four years in prison and $10,000) for subsequent offenses.
Full text of bill: https://house.mo.gov/Bill.aspx?bill=HB601&year=2025&code=RStatus: pending
Introduced 8 Jan 2025.
Issue(s): Face Covering#FirstAmendment #CriminalizingDissent
#Authoritarianism #Fascism #Clampdown #CriminalizingProtest
#CharacteristicsOfFascism #USPol #AntiProtestLaws #PipelineProtests #AntiMaskLaws #HeatherHeyer #UniteTheRight #DrivingDownProtestors -
State by State Pending and recently passed #AntiProtestLaws: #Missouri
HB 355: New penalties for protests near gas and oil #pipelines
Creates new potential penalties for protests near gas and oil pipelines and other "critical infrastructure." The law--which was substituted by a Missouri Senate committee for a House bill on sentencing guidelines--heightens the penalties for trespass occurring on critical infrastructure property. Trespass with intent "to damage, destroy, vandalize, deface, [or] tamper with" a facility or intent to "impede or inhibit the operations" of a facility is a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by one year in jail and a $2,000 fine. Protesters seeking to peacefully demonstrate against construction of a new pipeline, for instance, with the intent to disrupt that construction, could be prosecuted under the law. The law also newly criminalizes "damage" to critical infrastructure, broadly defined to include vandalism, and makes it a Class C felony, punishable by 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine. The law also newly and broadly defines "critical infrastructure" to include oil and gas pipelines, refineries, cell phone towers, and railroad tracks whether operational or under construction.
Full text of bill: https://house.mo.gov/Bill.aspx?bill=HB355&year=2019&code=RStatus: enacted
Introduced 18 Apr 2019; Approved by Senate as amended 17 May 2019; Approved by House 17 May 2019; Signed by Governor Parson on 11 July 2019Issue(s): Infrastructure, Trespass
HB 1413: Limiting #PublicEmployees' ability to picket
***Note: A Judge of the Circuit Court of St. Louis County found HB 1413 unconstitutional in its entirety and granted a permanent injunction against the enforcement of the law on January 27, 2020. ***
Bars certain public employees from picketing. The law requires that all labor agreements negotiated between a "public body" and a labor organization "shall expressly prohibit all strikes and picketing of any kind." The law further mandates that such agreements provide for the "immediate termination" of "any public employee who...pickets over any personnel matter." "Public body" is broadly defined in the law to include "the state of Missouri, or any officer, agency, department, bureau, division, board or commission of the state, or any other political subdivision or special district of or within the state"; accordingly, the law may apply to many labor agreements. While "picketing" is not defined under the law, Missouri Code elsewhere refers to "picketing or other organized protests" as "constitutionally protected activity," indicating that picketing as used in HB 1413 includes protests and demonstrations unrelated to labor strikes.
Full text of bill: https://house.mo.gov/bill.aspx?bill=HB1413&year=2018&code=RStatus: enacted
Introduced 3 Jan 2018; Approved by House 12 February 2018; approved by Senate 16 May 2018; Signed by Governor Greitens 1 June 2018
HB 601: Heightened penalties for #masked #protestersWould increase the penalty for any offense if committed by someone wearing a mask or other device that concealed their identity. The bill does not require that someone intended to conceal their identity in order to facilitate a crime. The bill also does not provide exemptions for masks worn for medical or any other purpose, nor does it limit the enhanced penalties to violent crimes. As such, a peaceful protester who committed a nonviolent offense while wearing a mask—whether a medical mask to avoid contagion, a mask to avoid retaliation for their political speech, or a mask worn for any other reason—could face steep penalties. For instance, peaceful demonstrators in Missouri may be charged with “disturbing the peace,” a minor misdemeanor, if they make too much noise or obstruct a sidewalk or road in the course of a protest. Under the bill, a masked protester charged with that offense could face up to one year in jail and $2,000 for the first offense and a felony penalties (up to four years in prison and $10,000) for subsequent offenses.
Full text of bill: https://house.mo.gov/Bill.aspx?bill=HB601&year=2025&code=RStatus: pending
Introduced 8 Jan 2025.
Issue(s): Face Covering#FirstAmendment #CriminalizingDissent
#Authoritarianism #Fascism #Clampdown #CriminalizingProtest
#CharacteristicsOfFascism #USPol #AntiProtestLaws #PipelineProtests #AntiMaskLaws #HeatherHeyer #UniteTheRight #DrivingDownProtestors -
State by State Pending and recently passed #AntiProtestLaws: #Missouri
HB 355: New penalties for protests near gas and oil #pipelines
Creates new potential penalties for protests near gas and oil pipelines and other "critical infrastructure." The law--which was substituted by a Missouri Senate committee for a House bill on sentencing guidelines--heightens the penalties for trespass occurring on critical infrastructure property. Trespass with intent "to damage, destroy, vandalize, deface, [or] tamper with" a facility or intent to "impede or inhibit the operations" of a facility is a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by one year in jail and a $2,000 fine. Protesters seeking to peacefully demonstrate against construction of a new pipeline, for instance, with the intent to disrupt that construction, could be prosecuted under the law. The law also newly criminalizes "damage" to critical infrastructure, broadly defined to include vandalism, and makes it a Class C felony, punishable by 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine. The law also newly and broadly defines "critical infrastructure" to include oil and gas pipelines, refineries, cell phone towers, and railroad tracks whether operational or under construction.
Full text of bill: https://house.mo.gov/Bill.aspx?bill=HB355&year=2019&code=RStatus: enacted
Introduced 18 Apr 2019; Approved by Senate as amended 17 May 2019; Approved by House 17 May 2019; Signed by Governor Parson on 11 July 2019Issue(s): Infrastructure, Trespass
HB 1413: Limiting #PublicEmployees' ability to picket
***Note: A Judge of the Circuit Court of St. Louis County found HB 1413 unconstitutional in its entirety and granted a permanent injunction against the enforcement of the law on January 27, 2020. ***
Bars certain public employees from picketing. The law requires that all labor agreements negotiated between a "public body" and a labor organization "shall expressly prohibit all strikes and picketing of any kind." The law further mandates that such agreements provide for the "immediate termination" of "any public employee who...pickets over any personnel matter." "Public body" is broadly defined in the law to include "the state of Missouri, or any officer, agency, department, bureau, division, board or commission of the state, or any other political subdivision or special district of or within the state"; accordingly, the law may apply to many labor agreements. While "picketing" is not defined under the law, Missouri Code elsewhere refers to "picketing or other organized protests" as "constitutionally protected activity," indicating that picketing as used in HB 1413 includes protests and demonstrations unrelated to labor strikes.
Full text of bill: https://house.mo.gov/bill.aspx?bill=HB1413&year=2018&code=RStatus: enacted
Introduced 3 Jan 2018; Approved by House 12 February 2018; approved by Senate 16 May 2018; Signed by Governor Greitens 1 June 2018
HB 601: Heightened penalties for #masked #protestersWould increase the penalty for any offense if committed by someone wearing a mask or other device that concealed their identity. The bill does not require that someone intended to conceal their identity in order to facilitate a crime. The bill also does not provide exemptions for masks worn for medical or any other purpose, nor does it limit the enhanced penalties to violent crimes. As such, a peaceful protester who committed a nonviolent offense while wearing a mask—whether a medical mask to avoid contagion, a mask to avoid retaliation for their political speech, or a mask worn for any other reason—could face steep penalties. For instance, peaceful demonstrators in Missouri may be charged with “disturbing the peace,” a minor misdemeanor, if they make too much noise or obstruct a sidewalk or road in the course of a protest. Under the bill, a masked protester charged with that offense could face up to one year in jail and $2,000 for the first offense and a felony penalties (up to four years in prison and $10,000) for subsequent offenses.
Full text of bill: https://house.mo.gov/Bill.aspx?bill=HB601&year=2025&code=RStatus: pending
Introduced 8 Jan 2025.
Issue(s): Face Covering#FirstAmendment #CriminalizingDissent
#Authoritarianism #Fascism #Clampdown #CriminalizingProtest
#CharacteristicsOfFascism #USPol #AntiProtestLaws #PipelineProtests #AntiMaskLaws #HeatherHeyer #UniteTheRight #DrivingDownProtestors -
State by State Pending and recently passed #AntiProtestLaws: #Missouri
HB 355: New penalties for protests near gas and oil #pipelines
Creates new potential penalties for protests near gas and oil pipelines and other "critical infrastructure." The law--which was substituted by a Missouri Senate committee for a House bill on sentencing guidelines--heightens the penalties for trespass occurring on critical infrastructure property. Trespass with intent "to damage, destroy, vandalize, deface, [or] tamper with" a facility or intent to "impede or inhibit the operations" of a facility is a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by one year in jail and a $2,000 fine. Protesters seeking to peacefully demonstrate against construction of a new pipeline, for instance, with the intent to disrupt that construction, could be prosecuted under the law. The law also newly criminalizes "damage" to critical infrastructure, broadly defined to include vandalism, and makes it a Class C felony, punishable by 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine. The law also newly and broadly defines "critical infrastructure" to include oil and gas pipelines, refineries, cell phone towers, and railroad tracks whether operational or under construction.
Full text of bill: https://house.mo.gov/Bill.aspx?bill=HB355&year=2019&code=RStatus: enacted
Introduced 18 Apr 2019; Approved by Senate as amended 17 May 2019; Approved by House 17 May 2019; Signed by Governor Parson on 11 July 2019Issue(s): Infrastructure, Trespass
HB 1413: Limiting #PublicEmployees' ability to picket
***Note: A Judge of the Circuit Court of St. Louis County found HB 1413 unconstitutional in its entirety and granted a permanent injunction against the enforcement of the law on January 27, 2020. ***
Bars certain public employees from picketing. The law requires that all labor agreements negotiated between a "public body" and a labor organization "shall expressly prohibit all strikes and picketing of any kind." The law further mandates that such agreements provide for the "immediate termination" of "any public employee who...pickets over any personnel matter." "Public body" is broadly defined in the law to include "the state of Missouri, or any officer, agency, department, bureau, division, board or commission of the state, or any other political subdivision or special district of or within the state"; accordingly, the law may apply to many labor agreements. While "picketing" is not defined under the law, Missouri Code elsewhere refers to "picketing or other organized protests" as "constitutionally protected activity," indicating that picketing as used in HB 1413 includes protests and demonstrations unrelated to labor strikes.
Full text of bill: https://house.mo.gov/bill.aspx?bill=HB1413&year=2018&code=RStatus: enacted
Introduced 3 Jan 2018; Approved by House 12 February 2018; approved by Senate 16 May 2018; Signed by Governor Greitens 1 June 2018
HB 601: Heightened penalties for #masked #protestersWould increase the penalty for any offense if committed by someone wearing a mask or other device that concealed their identity. The bill does not require that someone intended to conceal their identity in order to facilitate a crime. The bill also does not provide exemptions for masks worn for medical or any other purpose, nor does it limit the enhanced penalties to violent crimes. As such, a peaceful protester who committed a nonviolent offense while wearing a mask—whether a medical mask to avoid contagion, a mask to avoid retaliation for their political speech, or a mask worn for any other reason—could face steep penalties. For instance, peaceful demonstrators in Missouri may be charged with “disturbing the peace,” a minor misdemeanor, if they make too much noise or obstruct a sidewalk or road in the course of a protest. Under the bill, a masked protester charged with that offense could face up to one year in jail and $2,000 for the first offense and a felony penalties (up to four years in prison and $10,000) for subsequent offenses.
Full text of bill: https://house.mo.gov/Bill.aspx?bill=HB601&year=2025&code=RStatus: pending
Introduced 8 Jan 2025.
Issue(s): Face Covering#FirstAmendment #CriminalizingDissent
#Authoritarianism #Fascism #Clampdown #CriminalizingProtest
#CharacteristicsOfFascism #USPol #AntiProtestLaws #PipelineProtests #AntiMaskLaws #HeatherHeyer #UniteTheRight #DrivingDownProtestors -
State by State Pending and recently passed #AntiProtestLaws: #Minnesota
SF 1501: Heightened penalties for protesters who block #traffic
Would heighten penalties for protesters who intentionally “interfere with” or “disrupt” traffic that is entering, exiting, or on a freeway or a roadway on airport property. Under the bill, intentional traffic disruption on freeways or airport roadways would be a gross misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in jail and a $3,000 fine. The relevant provisions are identical to HF 329 / SF 728.
Full text of bill: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/bill.php?b=Senate&f=SF1501&ssn=0&y=2025Status: pending
Introduced 17 Feb 2025.
Issue(s): #Traffic =InterferenceSF 1363: New penalties for pipeline protesters and supporters, and protesters who block traffic
Would create new civil and criminal liability for funders and supporters of protesters who peacefully demonstrate on pipeline or other utility property. Any person or entity that "recruits, trains, aids, advises, hires, counsels, or conspires with" a person who trespasses onto a “critical public service facility, utility, or pipeline” would be civilly liable for any damages committed by the trespasser under the bill. They would also be guilty of a gross misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of up to $3,000, if they fail to make a reasonable effort to prevent the violation. Additionally, the bill would make the person who trespasses onto the critical public service facility, utility, or pipeline strictly liable for civil damages. Similar provisions were introduced as SF 1493 in the 2023-2024 session. The bill would also make it a gross misdemeanor to obstruct traffic on a freeway or on a public road within airport property, with intent of obstructing or otherwise interfering with traffic. As written, the offense could cover protesters who even momentarily delayed cars on a freeway while demonstrating on the side of the freeway or on an overpass. Similar provisions were introduced as SF 1285/HF 1967 in the 2021-2022 session.
Full text of bill: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/bill.php?b=Senate&f=SF1363&ssn=0&y=2025Status: pending
Introduced 13 Feb 2025.
Issue(s): Civil Liability, #ProtestSupporters or Funders, Infrastructure, Traffic Interference, TrespassHF 329 / SF 728: Heightened penalties for protesters who block traffic
Would heighten penalties for protesters who intentionally “interfere with” or “disrupt” traffic that is entering, exiting, or on a freeway or a roadway on airport property. Under the bill, intentional traffic disruption on freeways or airport roadways would be a gross misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in jail and a $3,000 fine. A nearly identical bill was proposed as HF 1967 / SF 1285, introduced in 2021.
Full text of bill: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/bill.php?f=HF329&y=2025&ssn=0&b=houseStatus: pending
Introduced 13 Feb 2025.
Issue(s): Traffic InterferenceHF 367 / SF 180: New civil liability for street protesters
Would allow third parties or the government to sue protesters if they interfere with traffic on certain public roads. Under the bill, someone who intentionally “interferes with” or “obstructs” passage on any “public highway” would be civilly liable for damages and attorneys fees. Any injured person, private entity, or state or local government could bring such a lawsuit, though the bill provides that the government cannot bring both a civil suit and criminal charges for the same conduct. “Highways” in Minnesota include many two-lane roads with stop signs and stoplights. As such, protesters whose demonstration paused or delayed traffic on certain roads could face costly litigation by, for instance, a company that claimed it was “damaged” by the delay.
Full text of bill:
https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/bill.php?b=House&f=HF367&y=2025&ssn=0Status: pending
Introduced 13 Feb 2025.
Issue(s): Traffic InterferenceSF 708: BARRING PUBLIC BENEFITS FOR PROTEST-RELATED OFFENSES
Would broadly disqualify a person convicted of an offense during a protest from receiving #PublicAssistance. Any "offense related to the person's illegal conduct at a protest, demonstration, rally, civil unrest, or march" would disqualify the person from a range of benefits, including #FoodAssistance, education #loans and grants, and #unemployment assistance. Under the bill, a person convicted of even a misdemeanor that is deemed somehow "related" to their participation in a peaceful protest could face permanent disqualification from such benefits. The same bill was introduced as SF 935 in 2023.
Full text of bill: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/bill.php?b=Senate&f=SF0708&ssn=0&y=2025Status: pending
Introduced 27 Jan 2025.
Issue(s): Limit on Public BenefitsSF 702 / HF 2808: New civil immunity for drivers who hit protesters
Would shield from civil lawsuits drivers who hit street protesters in certain situations. The bill provides that anyone who unlawfully obstructs a roadway cannot sue a driver for any injury, loss, death or damage they suffered if the driver was seeking to “retreat or escape” from the roadway obstruction and believed they were in immediate danger of injury. An identical bill was introduced as SF 5500 in 2024.
Full text of bill: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/bill.php?b=Senate&f=SF0702&ssn=0&y=2025Status: pending
Introduced 27 Jan 2025.
Issue(s): Driver Immunity#FirstAmendment #CriminalizingDissent
#Authoritarianism #Fascism #Clampdown #CriminalizingProtest
#CharacteristicsOfFascism #USPol #AntiProtestLaws #PipelineProtests #HeatherHeyer #UniteTheRight #DrivingDownProtestors -
State by State Pending and recently passed #AntiProtestLaws: #Minnesota
SF 1501: Heightened penalties for protesters who block #traffic
Would heighten penalties for protesters who intentionally “interfere with” or “disrupt” traffic that is entering, exiting, or on a freeway or a roadway on airport property. Under the bill, intentional traffic disruption on freeways or airport roadways would be a gross misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in jail and a $3,000 fine. The relevant provisions are identical to HF 329 / SF 728.
Full text of bill: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/bill.php?b=Senate&f=SF1501&ssn=0&y=2025Status: pending
Introduced 17 Feb 2025.
Issue(s): #Traffic =InterferenceSF 1363: New penalties for pipeline protesters and supporters, and protesters who block traffic
Would create new civil and criminal liability for funders and supporters of protesters who peacefully demonstrate on pipeline or other utility property. Any person or entity that "recruits, trains, aids, advises, hires, counsels, or conspires with" a person who trespasses onto a “critical public service facility, utility, or pipeline” would be civilly liable for any damages committed by the trespasser under the bill. They would also be guilty of a gross misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of up to $3,000, if they fail to make a reasonable effort to prevent the violation. Additionally, the bill would make the person who trespasses onto the critical public service facility, utility, or pipeline strictly liable for civil damages. Similar provisions were introduced as SF 1493 in the 2023-2024 session. The bill would also make it a gross misdemeanor to obstruct traffic on a freeway or on a public road within airport property, with intent of obstructing or otherwise interfering with traffic. As written, the offense could cover protesters who even momentarily delayed cars on a freeway while demonstrating on the side of the freeway or on an overpass. Similar provisions were introduced as SF 1285/HF 1967 in the 2021-2022 session.
Full text of bill: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/bill.php?b=Senate&f=SF1363&ssn=0&y=2025Status: pending
Introduced 13 Feb 2025.
Issue(s): Civil Liability, #ProtestSupporters or Funders, Infrastructure, Traffic Interference, TrespassHF 329 / SF 728: Heightened penalties for protesters who block traffic
Would heighten penalties for protesters who intentionally “interfere with” or “disrupt” traffic that is entering, exiting, or on a freeway or a roadway on airport property. Under the bill, intentional traffic disruption on freeways or airport roadways would be a gross misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in jail and a $3,000 fine. A nearly identical bill was proposed as HF 1967 / SF 1285, introduced in 2021.
Full text of bill: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/bill.php?f=HF329&y=2025&ssn=0&b=houseStatus: pending
Introduced 13 Feb 2025.
Issue(s): Traffic InterferenceHF 367 / SF 180: New civil liability for street protesters
Would allow third parties or the government to sue protesters if they interfere with traffic on certain public roads. Under the bill, someone who intentionally “interferes with” or “obstructs” passage on any “public highway” would be civilly liable for damages and attorneys fees. Any injured person, private entity, or state or local government could bring such a lawsuit, though the bill provides that the government cannot bring both a civil suit and criminal charges for the same conduct. “Highways” in Minnesota include many two-lane roads with stop signs and stoplights. As such, protesters whose demonstration paused or delayed traffic on certain roads could face costly litigation by, for instance, a company that claimed it was “damaged” by the delay.
Full text of bill:
https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/bill.php?b=House&f=HF367&y=2025&ssn=0Status: pending
Introduced 13 Feb 2025.
Issue(s): Traffic InterferenceSF 708: BARRING PUBLIC BENEFITS FOR PROTEST-RELATED OFFENSES
Would broadly disqualify a person convicted of an offense during a protest from receiving #PublicAssistance. Any "offense related to the person's illegal conduct at a protest, demonstration, rally, civil unrest, or march" would disqualify the person from a range of benefits, including #FoodAssistance, education #loans and grants, and #unemployment assistance. Under the bill, a person convicted of even a misdemeanor that is deemed somehow "related" to their participation in a peaceful protest could face permanent disqualification from such benefits. The same bill was introduced as SF 935 in 2023.
Full text of bill: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/bill.php?b=Senate&f=SF0708&ssn=0&y=2025Status: pending
Introduced 27 Jan 2025.
Issue(s): Limit on Public BenefitsSF 702 / HF 2808: New civil immunity for drivers who hit protesters
Would shield from civil lawsuits drivers who hit street protesters in certain situations. The bill provides that anyone who unlawfully obstructs a roadway cannot sue a driver for any injury, loss, death or damage they suffered if the driver was seeking to “retreat or escape” from the roadway obstruction and believed they were in immediate danger of injury. An identical bill was introduced as SF 5500 in 2024.
Full text of bill: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/bill.php?b=Senate&f=SF0702&ssn=0&y=2025Status: pending
Introduced 27 Jan 2025.
Issue(s): Driver Immunity#FirstAmendment #CriminalizingDissent
#Authoritarianism #Fascism #Clampdown #CriminalizingProtest
#CharacteristicsOfFascism #USPol #AntiProtestLaws #PipelineProtests #HeatherHeyer #UniteTheRight #DrivingDownProtestors -
State by State Pending and recently passed #AntiProtestLaws: #Minnesota
SF 1501: Heightened penalties for protesters who block #traffic
Would heighten penalties for protesters who intentionally “interfere with” or “disrupt” traffic that is entering, exiting, or on a freeway or a roadway on airport property. Under the bill, intentional traffic disruption on freeways or airport roadways would be a gross misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in jail and a $3,000 fine. The relevant provisions are identical to HF 329 / SF 728.
Full text of bill: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/bill.php?b=Senate&f=SF1501&ssn=0&y=2025Status: pending
Introduced 17 Feb 2025.
Issue(s): #Traffic =InterferenceSF 1363: New penalties for pipeline protesters and supporters, and protesters who block traffic
Would create new civil and criminal liability for funders and supporters of protesters who peacefully demonstrate on pipeline or other utility property. Any person or entity that "recruits, trains, aids, advises, hires, counsels, or conspires with" a person who trespasses onto a “critical public service facility, utility, or pipeline” would be civilly liable for any damages committed by the trespasser under the bill. They would also be guilty of a gross misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of up to $3,000, if they fail to make a reasonable effort to prevent the violation. Additionally, the bill would make the person who trespasses onto the critical public service facility, utility, or pipeline strictly liable for civil damages. Similar provisions were introduced as SF 1493 in the 2023-2024 session. The bill would also make it a gross misdemeanor to obstruct traffic on a freeway or on a public road within airport property, with intent of obstructing or otherwise interfering with traffic. As written, the offense could cover protesters who even momentarily delayed cars on a freeway while demonstrating on the side of the freeway or on an overpass. Similar provisions were introduced as SF 1285/HF 1967 in the 2021-2022 session.
Full text of bill: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/bill.php?b=Senate&f=SF1363&ssn=0&y=2025Status: pending
Introduced 13 Feb 2025.
Issue(s): Civil Liability, #ProtestSupporters or Funders, Infrastructure, Traffic Interference, TrespassHF 329 / SF 728: Heightened penalties for protesters who block traffic
Would heighten penalties for protesters who intentionally “interfere with” or “disrupt” traffic that is entering, exiting, or on a freeway or a roadway on airport property. Under the bill, intentional traffic disruption on freeways or airport roadways would be a gross misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in jail and a $3,000 fine. A nearly identical bill was proposed as HF 1967 / SF 1285, introduced in 2021.
Full text of bill: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/bill.php?f=HF329&y=2025&ssn=0&b=houseStatus: pending
Introduced 13 Feb 2025.
Issue(s): Traffic InterferenceHF 367 / SF 180: New civil liability for street protesters
Would allow third parties or the government to sue protesters if they interfere with traffic on certain public roads. Under the bill, someone who intentionally “interferes with” or “obstructs” passage on any “public highway” would be civilly liable for damages and attorneys fees. Any injured person, private entity, or state or local government could bring such a lawsuit, though the bill provides that the government cannot bring both a civil suit and criminal charges for the same conduct. “Highways” in Minnesota include many two-lane roads with stop signs and stoplights. As such, protesters whose demonstration paused or delayed traffic on certain roads could face costly litigation by, for instance, a company that claimed it was “damaged” by the delay.
Full text of bill:
https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/bill.php?b=House&f=HF367&y=2025&ssn=0Status: pending
Introduced 13 Feb 2025.
Issue(s): Traffic InterferenceSF 708: BARRING PUBLIC BENEFITS FOR PROTEST-RELATED OFFENSES
Would broadly disqualify a person convicted of an offense during a protest from receiving #PublicAssistance. Any "offense related to the person's illegal conduct at a protest, demonstration, rally, civil unrest, or march" would disqualify the person from a range of benefits, including #FoodAssistance, education #loans and grants, and #unemployment assistance. Under the bill, a person convicted of even a misdemeanor that is deemed somehow "related" to their participation in a peaceful protest could face permanent disqualification from such benefits. The same bill was introduced as SF 935 in 2023.
Full text of bill: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/bill.php?b=Senate&f=SF0708&ssn=0&y=2025Status: pending
Introduced 27 Jan 2025.
Issue(s): Limit on Public BenefitsSF 702 / HF 2808: New civil immunity for drivers who hit protesters
Would shield from civil lawsuits drivers who hit street protesters in certain situations. The bill provides that anyone who unlawfully obstructs a roadway cannot sue a driver for any injury, loss, death or damage they suffered if the driver was seeking to “retreat or escape” from the roadway obstruction and believed they were in immediate danger of injury. An identical bill was introduced as SF 5500 in 2024.
Full text of bill: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/bill.php?b=Senate&f=SF0702&ssn=0&y=2025Status: pending
Introduced 27 Jan 2025.
Issue(s): Driver Immunity#FirstAmendment #CriminalizingDissent
#Authoritarianism #Fascism #Clampdown #CriminalizingProtest
#CharacteristicsOfFascism #USPol #AntiProtestLaws #PipelineProtests #HeatherHeyer #UniteTheRight #DrivingDownProtestors -
State by State Pending and recently passed #AntiProtestLaws: #Minnesota
SF 1501: Heightened penalties for protesters who block #traffic
Would heighten penalties for protesters who intentionally “interfere with” or “disrupt” traffic that is entering, exiting, or on a freeway or a roadway on airport property. Under the bill, intentional traffic disruption on freeways or airport roadways would be a gross misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in jail and a $3,000 fine. The relevant provisions are identical to HF 329 / SF 728.
Full text of bill: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/bill.php?b=Senate&f=SF1501&ssn=0&y=2025Status: pending
Introduced 17 Feb 2025.
Issue(s): #Traffic =InterferenceSF 1363: New penalties for pipeline protesters and supporters, and protesters who block traffic
Would create new civil and criminal liability for funders and supporters of protesters who peacefully demonstrate on pipeline or other utility property. Any person or entity that "recruits, trains, aids, advises, hires, counsels, or conspires with" a person who trespasses onto a “critical public service facility, utility, or pipeline” would be civilly liable for any damages committed by the trespasser under the bill. They would also be guilty of a gross misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of up to $3,000, if they fail to make a reasonable effort to prevent the violation. Additionally, the bill would make the person who trespasses onto the critical public service facility, utility, or pipeline strictly liable for civil damages. Similar provisions were introduced as SF 1493 in the 2023-2024 session. The bill would also make it a gross misdemeanor to obstruct traffic on a freeway or on a public road within airport property, with intent of obstructing or otherwise interfering with traffic. As written, the offense could cover protesters who even momentarily delayed cars on a freeway while demonstrating on the side of the freeway or on an overpass. Similar provisions were introduced as SF 1285/HF 1967 in the 2021-2022 session.
Full text of bill: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/bill.php?b=Senate&f=SF1363&ssn=0&y=2025Status: pending
Introduced 13 Feb 2025.
Issue(s): Civil Liability, #ProtestSupporters or Funders, Infrastructure, Traffic Interference, TrespassHF 329 / SF 728: Heightened penalties for protesters who block traffic
Would heighten penalties for protesters who intentionally “interfere with” or “disrupt” traffic that is entering, exiting, or on a freeway or a roadway on airport property. Under the bill, intentional traffic disruption on freeways or airport roadways would be a gross misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in jail and a $3,000 fine. A nearly identical bill was proposed as HF 1967 / SF 1285, introduced in 2021.
Full text of bill: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/bill.php?f=HF329&y=2025&ssn=0&b=houseStatus: pending
Introduced 13 Feb 2025.
Issue(s): Traffic InterferenceHF 367 / SF 180: New civil liability for street protesters
Would allow third parties or the government to sue protesters if they interfere with traffic on certain public roads. Under the bill, someone who intentionally “interferes with” or “obstructs” passage on any “public highway” would be civilly liable for damages and attorneys fees. Any injured person, private entity, or state or local government could bring such a lawsuit, though the bill provides that the government cannot bring both a civil suit and criminal charges for the same conduct. “Highways” in Minnesota include many two-lane roads with stop signs and stoplights. As such, protesters whose demonstration paused or delayed traffic on certain roads could face costly litigation by, for instance, a company that claimed it was “damaged” by the delay.
Full text of bill:
https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/bill.php?b=House&f=HF367&y=2025&ssn=0Status: pending
Introduced 13 Feb 2025.
Issue(s): Traffic InterferenceSF 708: BARRING PUBLIC BENEFITS FOR PROTEST-RELATED OFFENSES
Would broadly disqualify a person convicted of an offense during a protest from receiving #PublicAssistance. Any "offense related to the person's illegal conduct at a protest, demonstration, rally, civil unrest, or march" would disqualify the person from a range of benefits, including #FoodAssistance, education #loans and grants, and #unemployment assistance. Under the bill, a person convicted of even a misdemeanor that is deemed somehow "related" to their participation in a peaceful protest could face permanent disqualification from such benefits. The same bill was introduced as SF 935 in 2023.
Full text of bill: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/bill.php?b=Senate&f=SF0708&ssn=0&y=2025Status: pending
Introduced 27 Jan 2025.
Issue(s): Limit on Public BenefitsSF 702 / HF 2808: New civil immunity for drivers who hit protesters
Would shield from civil lawsuits drivers who hit street protesters in certain situations. The bill provides that anyone who unlawfully obstructs a roadway cannot sue a driver for any injury, loss, death or damage they suffered if the driver was seeking to “retreat or escape” from the roadway obstruction and believed they were in immediate danger of injury. An identical bill was introduced as SF 5500 in 2024.
Full text of bill: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/bill.php?b=Senate&f=SF0702&ssn=0&y=2025Status: pending
Introduced 27 Jan 2025.
Issue(s): Driver Immunity#FirstAmendment #CriminalizingDissent
#Authoritarianism #Fascism #Clampdown #CriminalizingProtest
#CharacteristicsOfFascism #USPol #AntiProtestLaws #PipelineProtests #HeatherHeyer #UniteTheRight #DrivingDownProtestors -
State by State Pending and recently passed #AntiProtestLaws: #Minnesota
SF 1501: Heightened penalties for protesters who block #traffic
Would heighten penalties for protesters who intentionally “interfere with” or “disrupt” traffic that is entering, exiting, or on a freeway or a roadway on airport property. Under the bill, intentional traffic disruption on freeways or airport roadways would be a gross misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in jail and a $3,000 fine. The relevant provisions are identical to HF 329 / SF 728.
Full text of bill: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/bill.php?b=Senate&f=SF1501&ssn=0&y=2025Status: pending
Introduced 17 Feb 2025.
Issue(s): #Traffic =InterferenceSF 1363: New penalties for pipeline protesters and supporters, and protesters who block traffic
Would create new civil and criminal liability for funders and supporters of protesters who peacefully demonstrate on pipeline or other utility property. Any person or entity that "recruits, trains, aids, advises, hires, counsels, or conspires with" a person who trespasses onto a “critical public service facility, utility, or pipeline” would be civilly liable for any damages committed by the trespasser under the bill. They would also be guilty of a gross misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of up to $3,000, if they fail to make a reasonable effort to prevent the violation. Additionally, the bill would make the person who trespasses onto the critical public service facility, utility, or pipeline strictly liable for civil damages. Similar provisions were introduced as SF 1493 in the 2023-2024 session. The bill would also make it a gross misdemeanor to obstruct traffic on a freeway or on a public road within airport property, with intent of obstructing or otherwise interfering with traffic. As written, the offense could cover protesters who even momentarily delayed cars on a freeway while demonstrating on the side of the freeway or on an overpass. Similar provisions were introduced as SF 1285/HF 1967 in the 2021-2022 session.
Full text of bill: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/bill.php?b=Senate&f=SF1363&ssn=0&y=2025Status: pending
Introduced 13 Feb 2025.
Issue(s): Civil Liability, #ProtestSupporters or Funders, Infrastructure, Traffic Interference, TrespassHF 329 / SF 728: Heightened penalties for protesters who block traffic
Would heighten penalties for protesters who intentionally “interfere with” or “disrupt” traffic that is entering, exiting, or on a freeway or a roadway on airport property. Under the bill, intentional traffic disruption on freeways or airport roadways would be a gross misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in jail and a $3,000 fine. A nearly identical bill was proposed as HF 1967 / SF 1285, introduced in 2021.
Full text of bill: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/bill.php?f=HF329&y=2025&ssn=0&b=houseStatus: pending
Introduced 13 Feb 2025.
Issue(s): Traffic InterferenceHF 367 / SF 180: New civil liability for street protesters
Would allow third parties or the government to sue protesters if they interfere with traffic on certain public roads. Under the bill, someone who intentionally “interferes with” or “obstructs” passage on any “public highway” would be civilly liable for damages and attorneys fees. Any injured person, private entity, or state or local government could bring such a lawsuit, though the bill provides that the government cannot bring both a civil suit and criminal charges for the same conduct. “Highways” in Minnesota include many two-lane roads with stop signs and stoplights. As such, protesters whose demonstration paused or delayed traffic on certain roads could face costly litigation by, for instance, a company that claimed it was “damaged” by the delay.
Full text of bill:
https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/bill.php?b=House&f=HF367&y=2025&ssn=0Status: pending
Introduced 13 Feb 2025.
Issue(s): Traffic InterferenceSF 708: BARRING PUBLIC BENEFITS FOR PROTEST-RELATED OFFENSES
Would broadly disqualify a person convicted of an offense during a protest from receiving #PublicAssistance. Any "offense related to the person's illegal conduct at a protest, demonstration, rally, civil unrest, or march" would disqualify the person from a range of benefits, including #FoodAssistance, education #loans and grants, and #unemployment assistance. Under the bill, a person convicted of even a misdemeanor that is deemed somehow "related" to their participation in a peaceful protest could face permanent disqualification from such benefits. The same bill was introduced as SF 935 in 2023.
Full text of bill: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/bill.php?b=Senate&f=SF0708&ssn=0&y=2025Status: pending
Introduced 27 Jan 2025.
Issue(s): Limit on Public BenefitsSF 702 / HF 2808: New civil immunity for drivers who hit protesters
Would shield from civil lawsuits drivers who hit street protesters in certain situations. The bill provides that anyone who unlawfully obstructs a roadway cannot sue a driver for any injury, loss, death or damage they suffered if the driver was seeking to “retreat or escape” from the roadway obstruction and believed they were in immediate danger of injury. An identical bill was introduced as SF 5500 in 2024.
Full text of bill: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/bill.php?b=Senate&f=SF0702&ssn=0&y=2025Status: pending
Introduced 27 Jan 2025.
Issue(s): Driver Immunity#FirstAmendment #CriminalizingDissent
#Authoritarianism #Fascism #Clampdown #CriminalizingProtest
#CharacteristicsOfFascism #USPol #AntiProtestLaws #PipelineProtests #HeatherHeyer #UniteTheRight #DrivingDownProtestors