Rights Groups: Georgia ‘Terrorism’ Bill Targets Right To Protest
March 17, 2017
Under the bill, one could be charged with a “terroristic threat” if they cause a “serious public inconvenience.”
Demonstrators hold signs at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport during a demonstration to denounce President Donald Trump’s executive order that bars citizens of seven predominantly Muslim-majority countries from entering the U.S., Sunday, Jan. 29, 2017, in Atlanta. (AP/Branden Camp)
Published in partnership with Shadowproof.
State legislation introduced in Georgia would expand what is considered “domestic terrorism” and make it possible for state authorities to further criminalize Muslim and immigrant rights groups, which may engage in boycotts, sit-ins, and other forms of protest.
The American Civil Liberties Union chapter in Georgia, Asian Americans Advancing Justice (AAAJ) in Atlanta, and Project South condemned SB 1, which they argued is “in line with a national trend of state-level legislation written to crack down on protests and suppress the freedom of speech and right to peaceably assemble that is granted by the First Amendment.” They added, “Bills like this exist in eighteen other states.”
