Journalist Protection Act
Journalist Protection Act: Federal Penalties for Assaulting Reporters
The Journalist Protection Act is currently in the early stages of the legislative process. It has been sent to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary for review and is not yet scheduled for a vote. The bill is considered active as it waits for the committee to decide on its next steps.
Legislative Progress
This bill currently lacks bipartisan support and faces a difficult path in a divided Congress where federalizing local crimes is often debated.
Key Points
- This bill creates new federal crimes for attacking journalists. It covers anyone working for news outlets like newspapers, websites, TV, or radio who is gathering information to share with the public.
- If someone intentionally hurts a journalist while they are working, the attacker could face up to three years in prison. If the injury is very serious, the prison time could go up to six years.
- The law would only apply if the attacker knew the person was a journalist and was trying to stop them from doing their job or reporting the news.
- Supporters believe this will help protect reporters who face threats or violence while covering protests, political rallies, and other public events.
Impact Analysis
Govbase has not yet run an impact analysis on this legislation.
Milestones
Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Sent to a congressional committee for expert review. The committee decides whether this bill moves forward.
Introduced in Senate
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.