“To protect the civil rights of individuals against unlawful vigilante checkpoints and identity demands, and for other purposes.”
No CRS summary available for this bill.
This section sets forth four congressional findings: (1) the Fourth Amendment protects individuals from unreasonable searches and seizures, including unlawful vehicle stops and demands for identification; (2) private individuals and organizations have conducted vehicle stops, identity checks, and license plate surveillance without lawful authority; (3) such conduct undermines public safety, interferes with federal operations, and deprives individuals of constitutional and legal rights; and (4) Congress has authority under Article I, section 8, of the Constitution and section 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment to protect civil rights and ensure execution of federal law.
This section establishes a new criminal offense at 18 U.S.C. § 709A prohibiting any person without lawful authority from knowingly (1) stopping, detaining, or attempting to stop or detain an individual or vehicle on a public roadway; (2) demanding or requesting identification; (3) demanding or requesting to search property or persons; or (4) using or operating a device or system to collect, access, or analyze license plate or vehicle identification data—for the purpose of enforcing, monitoring, obstructing, or influencing federal law enforcement operations. Violations are punishable by up to five years imprisonment, a fine under title 18, or both; aggravated violations—involving a firearm or dangerous weapon, resulting in bodily injury, or interfering with or targeting a federal officer or operation—carry up to 10 years imprisonment. The section states that it does not prohibit lawful protest, speech, or assembly absent such conduct.
This section establishes a private right of action in U.S. district court for any person aggrieved by conduct prohibited under section 709A of title 18, United States Code (i.e., unlawful checkpoints and identity demands). Defendants include (1) individuals who engaged in such conduct, (2) organizations that directed, financed, coordinated, or materially supported it, or (3) governmental entities that knowingly permitted, authorized, or failed to prevent it on public property under their control. Available relief includes statutory damages of not less than $10,000 per violation (without proof of actual damages), compensatory and punitive damages, injunctive or declaratory relief, and reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs; qualified immunity or similar defenses are unavailable; and actions must be brought within five years of the violation.
This section provides a severability clause stating that if any provision of the Act, or its application to any person or circumstance, is held invalid, the remainder of the Act and the application of such provision to other persons or circumstances shall not be affected.