Sponsors (4)
The bill increases accountability and deterrence against attacks on federal institutions by expanding penalties and narrowing pardon protections, at the cost of higher incarceration and court costs, greater prosecutorial power, and risks of vague or uneven application that could sweep in peaceful actors and disproportionately affect marginalized defendants.
Federal employees, Members of Congress, staff, law enforcement, and the public gain stronger deterrence and greater protection from repeat attacks on federal institutions because the bill increases penalties and creates enhanced recidivist sentencing for insurrection-related conduct.
Courts, prosecutors, and law enforcement get clearer legal tools to identify and punish assaults and coordinated attempts (including conspiracies) and to treat certain prior convictions as qualifying even when pardoned, improving the ability to hold repeat or collaborative attackers accountable.
The public and taxpayers see reinforced rule-of-law and institutional confidence because the bill establishes stronger legal consequences for participants in insurrection and obstruction of federal proceedings.
Taxpayers and state/federal correctional systems will likely face substantially higher long‑term costs because the bill increases incarceration lengths and authorizes more severe penalties, including life sentences for some offenders.
Defendants — especially racial and ethnic minorities — risk unequal and harsher treatment because stronger sentence enhancements and expanded definitions increase the odds of disparate application and fairness concerns in the criminal justice system.
Peaceful protesters and bystanders could be swept into prosecutions because broad language (e.g., tying acts to 'actual or perceived' election results or vague 'patterns of anti‑democratic conduct') risks capturing unclear or nonviolent conduct.
Based on analysis of 6 sections of legislative text.
Adds recidivist sentencing enhancements and possible life terms for repeat convictions tied to violent, election-related attacks on federal buildings and obstruction of official proceedings.
Introduced January 6, 2026 by Norma Judith Torres · Last progress January 6, 2026
Creates new federal sentencing enhancements for people convicted of violent acts at the U.S. Capitol, White House, or Supreme Court when those acts are tied to election disputes or attempts to stop official proceedings. It defines "violent insurrection," makes repeat convictions eligible for added prison time (including tiered increases and a possible life term for certain grave offenses tied to a pattern of anti-democratic conduct), preserves appeal and constitutional rights, and restricts the effect of certain pardons on applying these enhanced penalties.