DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Palus Politicus A new bill aims to send masked Antifa activists to jail for 15 years

A new bill aims to send masked Antifa activists to jail for 15 years

By Dakin Andone, CNN
Updated 2:51 PM ET, Thu July 12, 2018

(CNN)Antifa activists could be jailed for up to 15 years for wearing masks under a bill introduced by a US congressman.

If passed, Bill HR 6054 would punish anyone wearing a mask or disguise who "injures, oppresses, threatens, or intimidates" someone else exercising a right guaranteed under the Constitution.
The title of the bill -- "Unmasking Antifa Act of 2018" -- makes it clear that Antifa activists are its intended target, but the bill's text never explicitly mentions them.

The bill, which was introduced by Republican Rep. Dan Donovan of New York last month, has drawn widespread condemnation from critics who claim it unfairly targets Antifa activists, while it could embolden the far-right demonstrators Antifa protests against.

"This is another draconian measure to actually criminalize dissent in the United States," said Scott Crow, a former Antifa organizer and author.

"Because the law, even if it doesn't explicitly state 'leftists who mask up,' that's who the largest potential target of the law is," he said, "far more than white nationalists."

The term "Antifa," short for "anti-fascist," is used to refer to a loose coalition of individuals with left-leaning political views that often fall outside of the mainstream Democratic Party's platform.

The group has no figurehead or official governing body, but members -- some of whom turn to radical or militant tactics to make their views known -- generally oppose the inequality of wealth by corporations and discrimination against marginalized communities. They often wear black and obscure their faces while protesting.

The Antifa movement's profile has significantly risen in recent years, especially after members clashed with self-described "white nationalists" in Charlottesville, Virginia, last summer -- a day that ended in tragedy when a James Alex Fields Jr. allegedly drove a car into a crowd of counter-protesters, killing one demonstrator, Heather Heyer.

Crow said the bill is an attempt by lawmakers to avoid tackling the issue of hate speech and instead address a "symptom" of it by targeting protests.

"Instead of dealing with that, they'd just rather deal with this," he said, "which is to put a band aid on something."
Walter Shaub, the former director of the Office of Government Ethics, tweeted about the bill on Tuesday, suggesting it advanced "authoritarianism."

"Two groups go to Charlottesville. A big group chants racist filth, wields semi-automatic assault rifles, fires a gun into a crowd & murders a woman with a car," he wrote. "A small group wears masks. It's the small group these Congressmen want to lock up for 15 years. Authoritarianism rises."

Donovan's office sent out a fact sheet that pointed out other instances in which Antifa activists exhibited violence, including an instance in February 2017 where they turned up to protest at a speaking event held by right-wing commentator Milo Yiannopoulous at UC Berkeley.

Donovan's spokesman Patrick Ryan also pointed out that the bill would simply add a section to federal civil rights statutes to include a penalty for wearing a mask.

"My bill expands upon long-standing civil rights statutes to make it a crime to deprive someone of Constitutionally-guaranteed protections while masked or disguised," Donovan said in a statement sent to CNN.

"Americans have the natural right to speak and protest freely; it is not a right to throw Molotov cocktails and beat people while hiding behind a mask."

But regardless of whether the bill becomes law, Crow said it won't stop protesters from wearing masks.

"If they take away the right to mask up," he said, "people will still do it anyway to fight against authoritarianism in any form."

https://www.cnn.com/2018/07/12/us/unmasking-antifa-act-trnd/index.html

Right wing fascists and the Trump Republican Goons who protect them are crapping their pants over kids in black hoodies with bandanas over their faces. Antifa fights fear with fear and they are winning because fascists are cowards.

I don't agree with the violence or property damage but I agree less with fascism.

Good as it should of been all along. Are they Including hate groups like the KKK in this?

It's called unmasking antifa... the kkk still gets to have their hoods unless the are violating others rights.

From what's been reported, no groups are explicitly named in the text of the bill (though Antifa is named in the title of the bill.)

It'll be interesting to see what comes of this.. more specifically, whether or not it passes. I suspect not.

Here it is, 3 pages:

https://www.congress.gov/115/bills/hr6054/BILLS-115hr6054ih.pdf

It won’t pass if the KKK or other racial motivated hate groups are unmasked.

Lol. Trick or treat night. And that clown scared my kids. Lock em up. Sorry kids, the deplorables ruin everything.

Does this mean Trump can't wear spray tan while inciting violence?

I believe there are NY laws against mask wearing at public assemblies and protests and parades already. I dont have a problem with that.

Yup.

Link please......They’d have to throw thousands in jail during the Macy day Parade. It’s friggin cold and ski masks and scarfs are donned by many.

Ok, trying to peel back the knee-jerk rallying cries again..

If this part above is true, then I don't have a single problem with it..

Punish anyone... anyone.
Hiding their identity...
Injures, oppresses, threatens, intimidates..
Someone, ANYONE, exercising their own constitutional rights...

So what's the problem?

I heard it on the news many years ago. Cant say I can find a link. Dont know the exact language of the law.

Fair enough.

This is why I'm losing faith in the GOP. If they were smart, they could of left the language complete the same and rolled this out as the "unmasking the KKK Act". Everyone, including Democrats, would of throw their support behind it or risked looking really stupid to their own base. Then after it passed, they could say, "Oh hey, guess this applies to Antifa too!" and get what they are looking for all along.

Instead, it comes across as, "We don't care that the KKK may have done this in the past, but now that Antifa does it, we'll pass a law."

My guess is that the typical 'sky is falling' group has not paid any attention to the point you are making there...which is an extremely important/relevant part of the bill.

You can't wear a mask into a bank. If you commit a crime with a gun, the punishment is much more severe. Mask up and peacefully protest all you want - which I think is extraordinarily cowardice - and there is no problem.

I wonder how many people like this law, but hate doxxing...

Hooray!

It's the end of the "Reverse Raccoon" look!

Yeah I am not a fan of this. People should be allowed to protest and protect themselves from being fired from their jobs. I understand why they would want this, to deter the type of violence Antifa has been causing at these protests but eh I don't like the idea of anyone even just attending a protest can now be associated with violence and have their livelihoods ruined over an overzealous political nerd.

15 years for wearing a mask? The law does nothing to address riots/violence/safety, and basically puts "wearing a mask" on the same level of crime as homicide and child abuse. Anyone who is caught committing violence while wearing a mask would still have the original charges filed, and then have this thrown on top. The measure is wholly punitive and meant to look as "being tough" on antifa while conveniently doing nothing to stop real and well established hate groups in this country like the KKK.

Care to cite a State or Federal Law making it illegal to wear a mask into a bank? Not saying there isn't one, I'm just not aware of it and would appreciate you pointing it out in the USC or relevant state code.

I have to imagine if there is a "mask" law it would be inclusive of the KKK.

No, 15 years for violence, oppression, or intimidation of anybody else who is trying to exercise their constitutional rights.


No, it adds to the punishment if you are going to show up for a protest or civil disobedience.. if it gets violent or intimidating (which I don't like because it's hard to prove)... then wearing the mask makes it more serious..

If you want to protest, fine, protest.. there is no need to wear a mask unless you don't want to face repercussions from your protest.

Uhm, not quite DC. First you would be charged with relevant laws cited for violence by the state, and if caught wearing a mask, would be additionally charged under this amendment to 18 USC Chapter 13. What this law is specifying is that if you are found guilty of violence, that you would be fined and/or charged up to 15 years IN ADDITION to any other penalties.



Do you understand what proportional response is? Do you believe that cutting off someones hand for stealing is a "proportional response" to theft? I know you don't. We instead believe that penalties should be done in proportion to the crime. Read 18 U.S. Code § 249. The fact that wearing a mask adds 15, but committing a hate crime adds only 10, is incredibly disproportional.

I'm not opposed to someone being penalized for masking themselves to commit a crime. I think it's an attempt to subvert active law enforcement endeavors including photo evidence. But we have to ask ourselves if a crimes punishment is in proportion to the violation. Adding 15 years when a hate crime adds 10 or threatening someone on the basis of religion adds 1 is completely unnecessary and is intended to be incredibly punitive on a political basis. The fact that the act specifically references Antifa and no other group is all the evidence one needs.

Yet Antifa was the only group referenced in the bill.

I think it's great. If you have to hide behind a mask then what your doing is wrong. It means you already know before the act that what your about to do is evil and so you're hiding your face to avoid being caught.

If your going to protest then do it. You have no right to harm others while you protest though. That is just mob violence. Mob violence wearing masks to me is nothing short of an act of terrorism.

Keep in mind they are not banning people from wearing masks. They are banning them from wearing masks while terrorizing and harming others. If your at a parade and wearing a ski mask because your cold this doesn't apply to you.

It's when you wear a mask as a premeditation to violence that it matters and I think it's great they are going after goons. I love that it will apply to the KKK too.

It says any person.

Good. If you are willing to fight your cause, you should be unmasked.

j/c

My only concern that I have seen is the use of the word "intimidate". That's a very loose term that leaves a lot of room for interpretation.

I'm not sure how I feel about this proposed law.

I do know that I believe any person who becomes violent at these events should be punished. I don't care what group they represent. The protests should be peaceful and violent protestors need to face jail time.

This day in age masks are becoming more and more appropriate if you plan on releasing your personal views into a public forum...I mean, on this very message board we use screen names and in some cases email addresses in place of our government names, and I would say that its incredibly rare, though maybe not completely unheard of for an internet user to register online with their real identity.

Now, if we feel the need to hide our identities from one another when we are separated by perhaps hundreds and thousands of miles, and often sitting behind a screen in the privacy of our homes or offices. Then wouldn't it seem rational to seek approximate measures when we are immersed in a public space surrounded by other people. People who could easily photograph, record, or identify any of us, for whatever means they see fit.

With facial recognition getting so advanced, the government will be able to identify anyone and everyone in a public space. It only makes sense to obscure your face, if you value privacy.

You don't need to hide your face if your not breaking the law.

I would just be happy if they ever got prosecuted from the violence even on a regular sentence. I think if your masked then it should upgrade that sentence to one of premeditated instead of getting caught up in the moment. I'm not a lawyer so I don't know if that even effects anything but I imagine it would make for a tougher sentencing that way.

Yeah, no one has ever been killed for peaceful protesting before.

I'm sure they have but it's usually at the protest where the mask wont save you at all.

Governments have a harder time coming for you when they can't identify you. We already want to take gun rights away, next they'll take privacy rights from you. After that everything else will be gone.

There is no such thing as privacy. It's just an illusion that gives you a false sense of security.

hence why they where masks

If you wear a mask when doing your thang, you are in interesting company...

Burglars
KKK
Bank Robbers
Anonymous
Antifa
Executioners

I am not sure if you were just clicking on my post or if you completely missed my point. I didn't talk about the masks. I was clear that I think that protestors who resort to violence at what should be peaceful protests need to be punished.

Disagreeing w/another's ideologies does not give anyone the right to harm that individual.