Republicans push ‘tsunami’ of harsh anti-protest laws after BLM rallies

After a year where Black Lives Matter demonstrations saw Americans begin to re-address and rethink racial inequality in the nation, a pushback from predominantly Republican lawmakers is on the horizon, with 29 states in the US moving to introduce draconian anti-protest laws.

Florida is the most recent state to bring in legislation which critics say would crack down on demonstrations, infringe free speech rights and potentially disproportionately target people of color, while other states have pursued anti-protest bills which could even prevent those convicted from receiving public benefits.

Republicans in Florida’s house of representatives passed the controversial Combating Violence, Disorder, and Looting and Law Enforcement Protection Act at the end of March. The law would increase penalties for participating in broadly defined “violent” protests – the vast majority of Black Lives Matter protests have been peaceful – and make it a felony to deface monuments if damage is more than $200.

That bill is likely to pass the Florida senate – and be signed into law by the governor – in the coming weeks, with Republican politicians in many other states pursuing similar legislation.

In January Mike DeWine, the governor of Ohio, signed a new law which would increase penalties for protests near “critical infrastructure”, while a bill similar to the Florida legislation was passed by the state senate in Kentucky last month.

In Oklahoma, lawyers are working on legislation which would introduce prohibitive penalties for protesters blocking traffic, taking part in broadly defined “unlawful assemblies”, and introduce new restrictions on protests taking place near the state capitol.

There are 71 laws pending at the state and federal level which would impinge on Americans’ right to protest, according to the International Center for Not-For-Profit Law, in 29 states.

Vera Eidelman, staff attorney with the ACLU’s Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project, said there have been “waves” of anti-protests bills introduced at state-level since late 2016, but not on this scale.

“This year it’s proceeding at the clip of a tsunami,” Eidelman said. “It’s not just waves anymore. It’s different both in terms of numbers and in terms of the breadth of the bills.”

In 2017, amid a swell of anti-Trump activism, more than 30 anti-protest bills were introduced, prompting the UN’s Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to complain to the US state department, while legislation was also introduced in response to demonstrations against the Dakota access pipeline.

In 2021, it’s the widespread Black Lives Matter protests of previous summer that seem to have prompted the anti-protest backlash.

“It’s disappointing but not terribly surprising, because we had a really powerful and expressive summer of protest,” Eidelman said.

“And as we have seen consistently in the last five or so years, legislators have chosen to respond to protests spilling out, people expressing themselves, by trying to silence those people, rather than trying to engage with their messages.”

Many of the bills working their way through state legislatures share common provisions, whether creating vague and ill-defined new crimes, or increasing penalties on already illegal conduct.

Not all of the bills will be passed into law, “but even the fact that they’re introduced is a serious problem”, Eidelman said.

“Not only do these bills seek to impose monetary and criminal penalties, but there are also provisions in a number of states that would bar people from public employment, public benefits, and public office,” Eidelman said.

“Which I think is really dangerous and troubling, especially during Covid when people are really requiring things like public benefits.”

Barring demonstrators convicted under draconian protest laws would prevent people like John Lewis, the late Georgia congressman and civil rights activist, from holding public office, and potentially prevent people who become engaged in politics through protest from seeking election.

Since the death of George Floyd on 25 May 2020, 95 bills that would restrict the right to peacefully assemble and protest have been introduced across the country, said Elly Page, a senior legal adviser at the International Center for not-for-profit law.

“This is an extremely concerning attack on a core constitutional right – one that is fundamental to democratic participation and that has been critical to social progress throughout our country’s history,” Page said in an email.

“The legislation itself makes clear who is targeted, too. Since the start of last summer’s protests, which have taken place primarily in the streets, we have seen 15 bills that eliminate repercussions for a driver who runs over a protester, and nearly 50 bills that heighten the criminal penalty for blocking traffic.

“Again, despite the overwhelmingly peaceful nature of last summer’s protests, we have seen almost 60 bills that would expand states’ already-overbroad ‘anti-riot’ laws or increase the riot-related penalties that could be levied on peaceful protesters.”

In many states the anti-protest laws have been pushed by Republican state senators or representatives, but in Florida, it is the state’s governor, Ron DeSantis, who has taken the lead.

DeSantis, a Trump-esque Republican who is said to be eyeing a 2024 presidential run, announced the “Combating Violence” bill himself in September 2020, before urging Florida’s GOP-controlled house and senate to pass it.

DeSantis’s bill looks likely to be in place by the summer, in time to crack down on any protests of the type seen last year, despite emotional objections from some Florida Democrats.

“This bill was written in response to peaceful protests this past summer that were focused on the support of those that believe Black lives matter. This is not a bill that has any other group in mind other than Black lives,” Angie Nixon, a Florida state representative, told Orlando Weekly.

“This bill is designed to keep us in check, to keep us fearful, to scare us from speaking out about the fact that Black lives matter.”