Congress: 119 · Status: active · Israel/Palestine classification: pro-Israel
Data (JSON) — machine-readable record of this bill (identifiers, sponsor, classification, actions, and the member-by-member vote breakdown).
Official record on Congress.gov — full text, actions, and cosponsor history for HR 2065.
Sponsor: McDowell, Addison P. (R-North Carolina)
This bill adds federal criminal penalties for committing certain offenses while wearing a disguise or mask. It creates a new crime of interfering with constitutional rights while in disguise (punishable by up to 15 years prison) and adds a mandatory 2-year sentence enhancement for destroying federal property while disguised. The bill's findings cite campus protests, vandalism at memorials, and threats to synagogues, framing masked protest as a law enforcement problem.
The bill targets protest tactics (mask-wearing) used in pro-Palestinian demonstrations, using federal jurisdiction and penalty enhancement to criminalize disguised participation in protests and property damage. While framed as a general public safety measure, it functions as a mechanism to deter and prosecute masked political activism, raising questions about whether it treats pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel masked protest symmetrically or whether enforcement will be selective.