Journalist Protection Act
Journalist Protection Act: Penalties for Assaulting Reporters
The Journalist Protection Act is currently in the early stages of the legislative process. It was recently sent to the House Committee on the Judiciary for review. There are no upcoming votes scheduled at this time, but the bill remains active.
Legislative Progress
This bill was introduced by a member of the minority party and faces a difficult path in a divided Congress where similar proposals have failed before.
Key Points
- This bill creates new federal penalties for anyone who intentionally assaults a journalist. It covers people working for newspapers, news websites, TV stations, and radio programs.
- Attackers could face up to 3 years in prison for causing bodily injury. If the assault causes serious injury, the prison time could increase to 6 years.
- The law would apply when a journalist is attacked while doing their job or if the attacker is trying to stop them from reporting on public events.
- The goal is to protect the safety of people who gather and share news with the public. It treats these attacks as federal crimes rather than just local matters.
Impact Analysis
Govbase has not yet run an impact analysis on this legislation.
Milestones
Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Introduced in House
The bill was officially filed and given a number. It now enters the legislative queue.
Votes
No votes have been recorded for this legislation yet.
News
No related news coverage found for this legislation yet.
Source Information
Document Type
Congressional Bill
Official Title
Journalist Protection Act
Data Sources
Sponsor
Cosponsors
(1)Analysis generated by AI. Always verify with official sources.