Sponsors (2)
The bill strengthens criminal penalties and creates a federal enforcement backstop to better protect journalists and newsgathering, but it narrows who qualifies as a protected "journalist" and risks duplicating state law, increasing federal caseloads and costs.
Federal prosecutors can pursue attacks that impede newsgathering even when states do not bring charges, increasing accountability for violent acts against reporters and enabling a federal enforcement backstop.
Journalists face stronger legal protection and deterrence against assault while reporting through new criminal penalties (up to 3 or 6 years), which may reduce attacks on reporters.
Federal criminalization of some assaults duplicates existing state offenses and could increase federal caseloads, expand prosecutorial discretion, and raise taxpayer costs and consistency concerns.
The bill's narrow definition of "journalist" may exclude community reporters, freelancers, and bystanders who document events, leaving those individuals without the intended federal protections.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Creates federal crimes for intentionally injuring journalists during newsgathering or to intimidate/impede newsgathering, with penalties up to 3 or 6 years depending on injury severity.
Official title: To amend title 18, United States Code, to provide a penalty for assault against journalists, and for other purposes.
Introduced May 5, 2025 by Eric Swalwell · Last progress May 5, 2025
Creates a new federal crime that makes it illegal to intentionally cause bodily injury or serious bodily injury to a person the attacker knows (or should know) is a journalist while the journalist is engaged in newsgathering or when the act is intended to intimidate or impede newsgathering. The bill defines key terms, borrows injury definitions from existing law, sets penalties of up to 3 years for bodily injury and up to 6 years for serious bodily injury, and inserts the new offense into the federal criminal code.