FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Caroline Tabler or Patrick McCann (202) 224-2353
March 6, 2024

Cotton Introduces Bill to Crack Down on Pro-Hamas Riots

Washington, D.C. — Senator Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) today introduced the Stop Pro-Terrorist Riots Now Act, legislation that would increase the punishments for rioting and provide mandatory sentences for anyone committing violence as part of a riot. Senator Cotton introduced the bill in response to the increasing number of anti-Semitic “protests”—often violent—by pro-Hamas leftists since Hamas’s October 7 terrorist attack on Israel.

“Radical, pro-Hamas mobs committing crimes and perpetrating violence should face the full extent of the law. No one has the right to commit violence in support of terrorism. This bill is necessary to ensure that we reject anti-Semitism and hold these pro-Hamas criminals accountable,” said Senator Cotton.

Text of the bill may be found here.

Background:

  • Pro-Hamas riots have proliferated in the United States since October 7, often with the support and encouragement of wealthy left-wing activists. In some locations, like New York, these groups have even received public funds.
  • Violence at these riots aren’t accidents—they’re the defining feature of modern leftist ideology.
  • In Washington, D.C. in November, a pro-Hamas riot injured at least six U.S. Capitol Police officers. Last week in California, pro-Hamas rioters literally broke down the door of a campus theater at U.C. Berkeley, forcing the evacuation of Jewish students who were gathered inside to hear an IDF soldier speak.

Stop Pro-Terrorist Riots Now Act would:

  • Increase the maximum punishment for participating in a riot from five years to ten years.
  • Create a mandatory one-year minimum penalty for anyone who either engages in or supports an act of violence as part of a riot.

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