Sponsors (2)
The bill strengthens protections for federal law enforcement and investigations by criminalizing targeted disclosures of officers' identities, but risks chilling journalism and public oversight and imposing legal and compliance burdens on publishers, individuals, and many federal personnel.
Federal law enforcement officers and their investigations: criminalizes public disclosure of officers' names when done with intent to obstruct investigations or immigration operations, deterring targeted doxxing and protecting personnel and operations.
Law enforcement, local governments, and communities: reduces intimidation and interference with criminal and immigration investigations, supporting public safety and the integrity of cases.
Prosecutors and federal agencies: creates clear criminal penalties (up to 5 years imprisonment and fines), giving prosecutors legal tools to deter and punish harmful disclosures.
News media, accountability advocates, and the general public: criminalizing publication based on intent could chill lawful reporting and public oversight, limiting transparency and the ability to expose misconduct.
Publishers, online users, and individuals: exposes them to felony penalties for disclosures that may be ambiguous or based on mistaken beliefs about intent, risking criminal prosecution for errors or honest reporting.
Federal employees, nonprofits, and journalists: a broad definition of 'Federal law enforcement officer' could sweep in many agency employees and create compliance burdens and legal uncertainty for agencies, publishers, and advocacy organizations.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Makes it a federal crime to publicly release a federal law enforcement officer’s name with intent to obstruct a criminal investigation or immigration enforcement, punishable by up to 5 years.
Prohibits publicly releasing the name of a federal law enforcement officer when the release is done with the intent to obstruct a criminal investigation or an immigration enforcement operation, and makes that conduct a federal crime punishable by a fine, imprisonment up to 5 years, or both. The bill defines "Federal law enforcement officer" for the new rule and makes conforming edits to the federal criminal code.
Official title: To amend title 18, United States Code, to establish a criminal prohibition on the public release of the name of a Federal law enforcement officer with the intent to obstruct a criminal investigation or immigration enforcement operation.
Introduced September 3, 2025 by Andy Ogles · Last progress September 3, 2025