🐱 ‘Unmasking Antifa Act' includes 15-year prison term proposal

http://thehill.com/homenews/house/396404-unmasking-antifa-act-includes-15-year-prison-term-proposal


The “Unmasking Antifa Act of 2018,” legislation introduced in the House, carries a potential 15-year prison sentence for those caught engaging in behaviors typically associated with the “antifa” movement of anti-fascist activists.

Under the act, anyone “wearing a mask” or in disguise who “injures, oppresses, threatens, or intimidates any person … in the free exercise or enjoyment of any right or privilege” would be subject to a fine or up to 15 years in prison.




The bill was introduced in the House last month but received renewed attention on Tuesday after alt-right personality Mike Cernovich encouraged his followers to call their representatives and "let them know what you think" about the legislation.

Antifa activists, who often wear masks, have gained nationwide attention for engaging in violent clashes. Many activists in the movement have also disrupted actions planned by white supremacist groups.

The bill was introduced by Republican Rep. Dan Donovan (N.Y.) and is co-sponsored by GOP Reps. Pete King (N.Y.), Paul Gosar (Ariz.) and Ted Budd(N.C.).

The bill is currently in the House Judiciary Committee.

 

[Hux]

Pretty much this. All that legislation like this is going to do is make them feel legitimized in trying to "fight against tyranny" and create an even bigger problem. They need to be disengaged at a widespread, community level. It needs to become a widespread sentiment that violence and vandalism is not an OK way to deal with politics you disagree with. Which, up until fairly recently it was. The problem with the advent of the internet and social media is that impressionable teenagers could now be exposed to the crazies on both sides and end up adopting extremist views from echo chambers like /pol/ and dumblr. Back in the 80's through the mid-2000's you were a fucking dumbass if you joined up with radical wingnutters. And you still are. The difference is that now it's way easier to find psychotic motherfuckers who actually agree with you.

On the other hand, and I pointed this out in the antifa thread, the internet also allows for what could not have been done before up till the 80s to mid-2000s: we now have ample footage of what antifa says and does, we now know how scummy they really are, but we now know just how stupid, weak and pathetic they are. Thus, we have plenty of footage of them getting their shit kicked in like what happened in Berkeley and Portland.

Because of this, while it's way easier to find these psychotic motherfuckers, I believe that 9 times out of 10, the initial reaction to them is "Wow, these people are douchebags, seeing them get beat up is great lol" instead of wanting to join them. The internet at large is a detriment rather than a benefit for them at this point by far.

 

[AnOminous]

Not only that, but it's more than likely that they'll start forming prison gangs if we start locking them up en masse.

These people aren't the kind of people who form prison gangs. They're the kind of people who get traded back and forth between prison gangs for cigarettes, ramen noodles and other forms of prison currency.

The fact that antifa can't be addressed using the existing laws highlights a massive failure on the part of the state and municipal police forces that seem to be too preoccupied with unarmed shooting scandals to properly deal with a widespread gang of thugs whose only aim is disrupt the peace and cause upheaval without any sort of just cause.

That's why they're proposing a form of federal intervention, and want to throw in a sentence enhancement for doing it all in a mask, which is just the same as other similar crime enhancers. For instance, body armor is (sometimes) legal, but using it while committing a crime ups the penalty. In this case, the mask when used in crime is an attempt to thwart law enforcement, and the sentence enhancement makes sense.

It's not criminalizing anything that wasn't already illegal. That's why I'm not seeing the constitutional issues, unlike mask laws which criminalize the mere wearing of a mask while engaged in expressive activity. The argument is laws like this can (and will) be misused, but in this case, the language tracks existing law that has already had 100+ years of litigation history. Courts already know what to do with language like this.

I'm also not convinced states aren't doing their job here. Even the worst of the lot, California, where local authorities completely fucked up, still take over and prosecute turds like Eric Clanton.

 

[Zaryiu]

Oh thank goodness, I thought the 15 years sentences we're for people removing a mask from Antifa members

 

[DrunkJoe]

As much as I feel a massive sense of schaudenfruede whenever something goes wrong for antifa, I agree with this, since what if later on down the line, people are protesting for far more nobler causes than anything that either the KKK or antifa has ever stood for? And besides, even with this law in place, half the cities that antifa operates in tell their police force to stand down to begin with.

What could be a much better alternative is get rid of this Duty to Retreat shit and instead just encourage Castle Doctrine across the whole country. Antifa never operates in areas where this is the case like in some small town in the South or the Mid-West, they only ever operate in urban areas in blue states where the populace is massively disarmed in the first place so they can do what they do and act the way they act without fear of consequence until the riot cops arrive (to sit there and do buttfuck nothing). What can really counter them there is that anyone that fights back against them won't have to face any consequence whatsoever. Let the average citizen unmask these lunatics, not the government

Besides, it's not like the weakest of Average Joes can't punch ten times harder than the strongest antifag anyway

Yeah in my rural midwest area there are none of these anti fags. Also I live in a state with no duty to retreat and wouldnt hestitate to defend my self either. Theres even a college nearby yet those soyboys are absent there.

 

[TowinKarz]

THere may be ICE riots in Philly and BLM riots in Pittsburgh, but in central Pennsyltucky, life goes on as usual, free of whiny wanna-be revolutionaries too scared of the guns, deer, and unpaved roads to try anything, and that's just the way I like it

 

[Iwasamwillbe]

heres some faggots from twitter bitchin

Spoiler: Fuckhuge amount

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All of these sympathizers should be investigated for potential ties to Antifa.

All of them.

 

[I-chi]

All of these sympathizers should be investigated for potential ties to Antifa.

All of them.

The amount of clickbait and hashtagging in some of those posts makes me physically ill. These kids wouldn't know a jackboot until it was already crushing their throats, but let's keep shouting "NAZI!!" and memeing that faggot Poppler's "intolerant of intolerance" bullshit as loud as we can. People'll totally take us seriously then.

As much as I'm willing to bet this won't be enforced on a federal level, all the salt piling up over it is quite a joy to sample.

 

[AnOminous]

That "intolerance of intolerance" shit applies to them in spades, too, but they're too dumb to realize it.

 

[Male Idiot]

What can I say? GOOD. There. I know it is not good form, but that is what it is. I hope these modern day ruffians get the 15 years.

 

[Trilby]

THere may be ICE riots in Philly and BLM riots in Pittsburgh, but in central Pennsyltucky, life goes on as usual, free of whiny wanna-be revolutionaries too scared of the guns, deer, and unpaved roads to try anything, and that's just the way I like it

As we all should have it!