- A wide area around the next G-20 meeting or other global summit could be designated “restricted” by the Secret Service, such that any person who “enters” a that area can be subject to a fine and a year in jail under Section 1752(a)(1) (making it a felony to enter any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority to do so).
- Senator Rick Santorum, the ultra-right Republican presidential candidate, enjoys the protection of the Secret Service. Accordingly, a person who shouts “boo!” during a speech by Santorum could be subject to arrest and a year of imprisonment under Section 1752(a)(2) (making it a felony to “engag[e] in disorderly or disruptive conduct in” a restricted area).
- Striking government workers who form a picket line near any event of “national significance” can be locked up under Section 1752(a)(3) (making it a crime to imped[e] ingress or egress to or from any restricted building or grounds).
US Anti-OWS legislation
SOURCE: Judie Hilke Lumborg (judie@aloha.net)
SUBHEAD: US Congress passes authoritarian anti-protest law with felony charges for impeding government.
By Tom Carter on 3 March 2012 for World Socialist Website -
(http://www.wsws.org/articles/2012/mar2012/prot-m03.shtml)
Image above: Demonstrators walk through the make-shift tent city as part of the Occupy D.C. demonstration at Freedom Plaza, in Washington on Oct. 11, 2011.From (http://www.cbsnews.com/2100-202_162-20119236.html).The United States is now in a full-blown crisis because its "corrupt foundation has been exposed to the American people. The US government may crack down on this movement but cannot uproot it. Ultimately, it will grow so that it will bring down the capitalist system and the West." - Iran's Ayatollah Ali Khamenei 10/12/11.
A bill passed Monday in the US House of Representatives and Thursday in the Senate would make it a felony—a serious criminal offense punishable by lengthy terms of incarceration—to participate in many forms of protest associated with the Occupy Wall Street protests of last year. Several commentators have dubbed it the “anti-Occupy” law, but its implications are far broader.
The bill—H.R. 347, or the “Federal Restricted Buildings and Grounds Improvement Act of 2011”—was passed by unanimous consent in the Senate, while only Ron Paul and two other Republicans voted against the bill in the House of Representatives (the bill passed 388-3). Not a single Democratic politician voted against the bill.
The virtually unanimous passage of H.R. 347 starkly exposes the fact that, despite all the posturing, the Democrats and the Republicans stand shoulder to shoulder with the corporate and financial oligarchy, which regarded last year’s popular protests against social inequality with a mixture of fear and hostility.
Among the central provisions of H.R. 347 is a section that would make it a criminal offense to “enter or remain in” an area designated as “restricted.”
The bill defines the areas that qualify as “restricted” in extremely vague and broad terms. Restricted areas can include “a building or grounds where the President or other person protected by the Secret Service is or will be temporarily visiting” and “a building or grounds so restricted in conjunction with an event designated as a special event of national significance.”
The Secret Service provides bodyguards not just to the US president, but to a broad layer of top figures in the political establishment, including presidential candidates and foreign dignitaries.
Even more sinister is the provision regarding events of “national significance.” What circumstances constitute events of “national significance” is left to the unbridled discretion of the Department of Homeland Security. The occasion for virtually any large protest could be designated by the Department of Homeland Security as an event of “national significance,” making any demonstrations in the vicinity illegal.
For certain, included among such events would be the Democratic and Republican National Conventions, which have been classified as National Special Security Events (NSSE), a category created under the Clinton administration. These conventions have been the occasion for protests that have been subjected to ever increasing police restrictions and repression. Under H.R. 347, future protests at such events could be outright criminalized.
The standard punishment under the new law is a fine and up to one year in prison. If a weapon or serious physical injury is involved, the penalty may be increased to up to ten years.
Also criminalized by the bill is conduct “that impedes or disrupts the orderly conduct of Government business or official functions” and “obstructs or impedes ingress or egress to or from any restricted building or grounds.” These provisions, even more so than the provisions creating “restricted areas,” threaten to criminalize a broad range of protest activities that were previously perfectly legal.
In order to appreciate the unprecedented sweep of H.R. 347, it is necessary to consider a few examples:
INDEX:
America
,
Fascism
,
Occupy Wall Street
,
Protest
,
Unrest
2 comments :
It is repugnant to the constitution therefore invalid.
It is a perfect tool to shape public opinion. Can you imagine a protest in front of AIPAC when Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu delivers his speech this weekend with the Occupy AIPAC plus other protesters. This new law (I know that Obama will sign it) will prevent such a mishap. We want the "beloved visitor" to return home with a spotless image of the welcoming crowd and no protesters. Prime Minister Netanyahu will be very pleased about the friendly America with no blemishes. Just like Propaganda Minister Goebbles was in Nazi Germany after implementing the repressive measures to assure high popularity of the policy and leaders of the Third Reich. We absolutely needed HR 347 to complete the cycle to full-fledged faschism.
Me ke aloha
János Keoni Samu
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