Sponsor
John Neely Kennedy
Senator · R-LA
Senator · R-LA
Official title: Make ideologically motivated crimes eligible for the death penalty.
Introduced November 5, 2025 by John Neely Kennedy · Last progress November 5, 2025
The bill strengthens penalties and formal recognition for ideology‑based targeting to deter violence and aid victims, but it expands death‑penalty exposure and raises significant civil‑liberties and implementation fairness concerns.
People targeted for political or religious beliefs may face harsher federal penalties, which could deter ideologically motivated violence against them.
Victims and communities targeted for political or religious expression would receive greater formal recognition of harm through an enhanced sentencing factor.
Defendants could face expanded eligibility for the death penalty because the bill broadens aggravating factors used to seek capital punishment.
Political, religious, and racial minorities could be disproportionately penalized if the new sentencing factor is enforced unevenly, worsening existing fairness and equal‑treatment concerns.
Parents, students, and others engaged in lawful political or religious expression may self-censor out of fear of harsher criminal consequences tied to rhetoric or affiliation disputes.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Adds an "ideological motive" aggravator to the federal death-penalty statute and requires Sentencing Guidelines conformity.
Adds a new "ideological motive" aggravating factor to the federal capital sentencing statute so that defendants who targeted a victim because of the victim's actual or perceived political or religious beliefs or to make a public political/religious statement can be considered for the death penalty; it also directs the U.S. Sentencing Commission to amend the Sentencing Guidelines to match that change. The bill contains congressional findings framing politically or religiously motivated targeting as a threat to democracy and a government interest in preventing it.