Sponsors (8)
The bill strengthens federal criminal tools to deter and punish violent interference with interstate commerce and clarifies enforcement rules while protecting peaceful picketing, but it also broadens federal exposure for labor-related conduct, risks inconsistent state-level outcomes, and may increase enforcement costs.
Small businesses, supply-chain workers, and the public benefit from clearer and stronger federal penalties (up to 20 years and $100,000 fine) for violent interference with interstate commerce, which is likely to deter disruptions to supply chains and public-safety threats.
Union members and peaceful labor demonstrators are explicitly protected from federal prosecution for otherwise lawful picketing, preserving room for collective bargaining and lawful protest activity.
Prosecutors, courts, and law‑enforcement gain clearer statutory definitions (commerce, extortion, robbery, labor dispute), improving legal predictability and consistency in enforcement.
Unions, workers, and protesters face greater federal criminal exposure because conduct that 'affects' interstate commerce could trigger heavy fines or long prison terms, increasing risk for participants in labor actions.
Criminalizing attempts, conspiracies, and threats tied to commerce expands federal reach into disputes often handled under labor law, creating a chilling effect on some protest tactics despite exemptions.
Shifting borderline or 'minor' incidents to state or local prosecutors risks inconsistent outcomes across jurisdictions, producing unequal treatment of similar conduct depending on location.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Creates a federal crime for obstructing commerce or using/threatening violence with penalties up to 20 years/$100,000, while leaving minor, incidental peaceful picketing to state/local prosecution.
Creates a federal crime for obstructing, delaying, or otherwise affecting interstate or U.S. commerce, or for attempting, conspiring, committing, or threatening physical violence to further such a plan, punishable by fines up to $100,000, imprisonment up to 20 years, or both. It also defines key terms (commerce, extortion, labor dispute, robbery), preserves several existing antitrust and labor laws, and clarifies when federal jurisdiction applies. Carves out an exception for conduct that is incidental to otherwise peaceful picketing during a labor dispute or that involves only minor bodily injury or minor property damage and is not part of a pattern of violent or coordinated violent activity; such conduct is instead left to state and local prosecutors. The measure preserves existing labor and antitrust statutes and states that federal jurisdiction is not barred merely because conduct occurred during a labor dispute or also violated state law.
Introduced August 26, 2025 by Scott Perry · Last progress August 26, 2025