The American Legislative Exchange Council, or ALEC, has been a primary driver in the spread of anti-protest laws across the country. Their power has tremendously expanded in recent years. Most recently, ALEC developed model anti-protest critical infrastructure laws, which have since been passed in 22 states. This legislative trend has a clear precedent in past legislation aimed at pipeline security. Those bills received national outrage for their inclusion of making it illegal to wear any kind of mask or disguise during protests deemed “intimidating” or “oppressive.”
Half of that was funded by the federal government, which has recently entered the fray with the introduction of the Unmasking Hamas Act. This draft bill would establish stiff penalties for anyone who masks their face during demonstrations. Offenders would be subject to imprisonment for up to 15 years. Civil rights advocates have sounded the alarm over this legislation. They interpret these moves as an outright effort to suppress dissent.
Since the beginning of 2024, the International Center for Not-for-Profit Law (ICNL) has tracked 41 new anti-protest bills introduced across 22 states, marking a significant increase. All together, the ICNL has tracked 52 anti-protest bills so far this year, building off of 26 in 2023. One, the recent wave of proposed legislation is a response to strong social movements. These movements were formed in the immediate aftermath of the police murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis in the summer of 2020.
The Unmasking Antifa Act and the Unmasking Hamas Act are nearly identical. In doing so, they each do a poor job of defining terms like “oppressive” and “disguise.” The introduction of such legislation has raised serious alarm about the chilling effect on civil liberties and democratic participation.
Jenna Leventoff, senior policy counsel at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), outlined her big-picture concerns about this trend in her testimony:
“These state bills and Trump’s crackdown on protected political speech are intended to scare people away from protesting or, worse, criminalize the exercise of constitutional rights.”
This wave of anti-protest bills since 2017 is part of a larger nationwide campaign to stifle and criminalize dissent. In 2021, only a year after those protests, legislators proposed 92 bills targeting protests in 35 states. This legislative onslaught is the clearest sign yet of a national movement to restrict Americans’ right to protest and share their dissenting opinions.
David Armiak, research director at the Center for Media and Democracy, noted the alarming nature of these developments:
“The large number and variation of anti-protest bills introduced in just three months – in combination with the self-proclaimed ‘law-and-order president’ administration’s revoking of student visas and disappearing of student protesters – indicates a movement towards fascism.”
Civil rights organizations including the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) have weighed in on this debate on mask wearing at protests. An ADL spokesperson stated:
“ADL objects to the wearing of full-face masks by those who seek to intimidate and harass others. We support anti-masking laws that create an additional penalty for already-prohibited behavior (engaging in targeting, threatening, vandalizing or violence). Such laws are not a mask ban and have no bearing on peaceful protest.”
In reality, critics say, these laws are not about public safety, but are instead about an authoritarian agenda. Jay Saper, an organizer with Jewish Voice for Peace, remarked:
“Make no mistake, this is not about Jewish safety. This is about advancing an authoritarian agenda to clamp down on dissent.”
As anti-protest bills keep multiplying, the short- and long-term effects on civil society would be catastrophic. The ICNL has been on the ground since 2017 closely monitoring and tracking these hostile measures. They’ve measured how these moves engender a chilling effect on free speech and protest. Leventoff emphasized this concern in her remarks:
“The anti-protest bills that have passed into laws since 2017 create a chilling effect and deter people from speaking out – and are incredibly repressive. It is especially concerning that now, when we see other pillars of civil society under attack, lawmakers are also trying to further suppress dissent and foreclose what is a critical means of democratic participation.”
The current reality is part of an alarming national trend to criminalize and heavily regulate public assembly. More states are passing laws that would make these everyday types of protest criminal activities. Civil liberties advocates have long warned that this is a direct threat to our right to assemble and protest freely.
The American Legislative Exchange Council had not responded to requests for comment by press time as to how these developments fit into ALEC’s agenda. Equally curious, the Heritage Foundation has, so far, not said a peep about the current tidal wave of anti-protest legislation rolling across states.