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US intensifies crackdown on peaceful protest under Trump
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/09/anti-protest-bills-trumpForty-one anti-protest bills in 22 states have been introduced since start of 2025, according to law tracker
Nina Lakhani
Wed 9 Apr 2025 12.00 EDT
Anti-protest bills that seek to expand criminal punishments for constitutionally protected peaceful protests – especially targeting those speaking out on the US-backed war in Gaza and the climate crisis – have spiked since Trump’s inauguration.
Forty-one new anti-protest bills across 22 states have been introduced since the start of the year – compared with a full-year total of 52 in 2024 and 26 in 2023, according to the International Center for Not-for-Profit Law (ICNL) tracker.
This year’s tally includes 32 bills across 16 states since Trump returned to the White House, with five federal bills targeting college students, anti-war protesters and climate activists with harsh prison sentences and hefty fines – a crackdown that experts warn threaten to erode first amendment rights to freedom of speech, assembly and petition.