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- Legislation would place federal prohibition on private militia activity
- Congressmen say groups used ‘political violence’ during Capitol riots
- Criminal penalties would increase based on severity of activity
Two Democratic congressmen are backing a proposal to prohibit private paramilitary activity, a bill intended to prevent future attacks like the one on the U.S. Capitol in 2021.
The Preventing Private Paramilitary Activity Act would create criminal penalties for people who engage in certain conduct including intimidating elected officials, interfering with government proceedings and pretending to be law enforcement.
“Three years ago, white supremacists affiliated with paramilitary organizations stormed the U.S. Capitol, shattering windows, walls, and the families of five U.S. Capitol police officers,” bill sponsor Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., said in a news release. “Private paramilitary actors, such as the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, pose a serious threat to democracy and the rule of law, and we must create new prohibitions on their unauthorized activities that interfere with the exercise of people’s constitutional rights. The forces of bigotry, hatred, and violent extremism must be stopped for the sake of our democracy.”
While all 50 states prohibit private paramilitary activity, according to a Georgetown Law analysis, there are no federal laws governing it. The Proud Boys and Oath Keepers groups had a presence at the Jan. 6 riots, which have resulted in almost 1,000 criminal convictions.
Former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio received the longest sentence, with 22 years behind bars for his role in the seditious conspiracy to stop the transfer of power from former President Donald Trump, who lost the 2020 election, to President Joe Biden.
Stewart Rhodes, the founder of Oath Keepers, was sentenced to 18 years in prison.
Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., a bill co-sponsor, said the groups use “political violence” to intimidate people and threaten democracy.
“Our legislation makes the obvious but essential clarification that these domestic extremists’ paramilitary operations are in no way protected by our Constitution,” he said in the release. “I’m grateful to Senator Markey for his partnership on this critical effort to protect the rule of law, deter insurrection and defend our democracy.”
The legislation establishes tiers of criminal penalties based on the severity of the activity, has harsher penalties for repeat offenders, and allows for probation for first-time offenders. It also enables private citizens to file civil lawsuits to seek injunctive relief or damages.
The legislation would prohibit:
- Publicly patrolling, drilling or engaging in harmful or deadly paramilitary techniques.
- Interfering with or interrupting government proceedings.
- Interfering with the exercise of someone else’s constitutional rights.
- Falsely assuming the functions of law enforcement and asserting authority over others.
- Training to engage in such behavior.
It has the endorsement of Protect Democracy, Center for American Progress and the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection at Georgetown University Law Center, according to the news release.
