By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2025-03-11 15:01:43 | Updated at 2025-03-12 05:32:49
14 hours ago
Republican lawmakers are backing up Donald Trump's plan to penalize pro-Hamas protestors disguised in masks at rallies.
Rep. Addison McDowell's Unmasking Hamas Act of 2025 was first obtained by DailyMail.com and comes in response to a wave of college campus protests sympathizing with the Hamas terrorists who invaded Israel on October 7, 2023.
It's not illegal to protest in the U.S., but it is against the law to damage federal property, to breach other people's protected rights and to evade law enforcement while in disguise.
Trump announced last week he is halting federal funding for any college that allows 'illegal protests.'
'All Federal Funding will STOP for any College, School, or University that allows illegal protests,' Trump wrote on Truth Social.
'Agitators will be imprisoned/or permanently sent back to the country from which they came,' he added. 'American students will be permanently expelled or, depending on the crime, arrested. NO MASKS! Thank you for your attention to this matter.'
Now, Rep. McDowell (R-N.C.) and his bill co-sponsor are taking Trump's action to heart - and plan to further increase the punishments.
The bill proposes amending Chapter 13 of Title 18 under the U.S. Code to make it unlawful for people to wear a disguise while engaging in what can be described as 'violent protests,' which often involves infringement on Americans' rights.
A group of Republicans introduced a bill Tuesday to increases penalties for people who infringe on other Americans' rights while concealing their identities – including with a mouth-covering medical mask
'Hamas sympathizers that are vandalizing, that are destroying federal property, that are intimidating students – these are, you know, people that are occupying buildings that they're not supposed to be in, right?' McDowell told DailyMail.com of who his bill targets.
'This is not your, your peaceful protester holding up a sign,' he added. 'This is someone that wants to claim that they're protesting, but they're really spray painting the side of a building or harassing police officers – in some cases, they're assaulting police officers.'
'These are not these are not peaceful protesters, they're terrorists in training,' McDowell alleged.
The proposal comes after Trump pulled $400 million in federal funding for Columbia University over its handling of anti-Israel campus protests last year.
The White House said the dramatic move was 'due to the school's continued inaction in the face of persistent harassment of Jewish students.'
The proposed law comes after Trump posted last week that the federal government would stop funding any educational institutions that 'allow illegal protests' in response to a wave of pro-Hamas demonstrations that turned violent or otherwise involved illegal activity
The bill is co-sponsored by Reps. Brandon Gill (Texas), Craig Goldman (Texas), Brian Jack (Ga.), and Riley Moore (W.V.).
The federal law currently states that anyone in disguise 'with intent to prevent or hinder free exercise or enjoyment of any right or privilege' could face a fine or imprisonment of up to 10 years.
This new punishment increases the federal punishment by raising the cap to 15 years if a person while in that state of dress injures, oppresses, threatens or intimidates any person in the U.S. or its territories.
On January 30, the president signed an executive order canceling student visas of anyone who expressed support for the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas.
Some college students began deleting pro-Palestinian events listed on social media in response to the pledge and the executive action by Trump.
Classes and college institutions across the country have been interrupted by Hamas demonstrations, many times resulting in personal injury, property damage and intimidation of other students.
Jewish students, in particular, have felt the brunt of these protests.
Rep. Addison McDowell (R-N.C.) filed the bill and is leading the effort to increase potential jail time to a 15-year cap for those who disguise themselves while injuring, oppressing, threatening or intimidating any person in the U.S. or its territories
Columbia University, University of California Los Angeles, Barnard College and Union Station in Washington, D.C. have all been areas where such activities have taken place over the last several months.
Pro-Palestinian protester and Columbia graduate student Mahmoud Khalil was arrested and detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers over the weekend.
The agency was ordered to revoke Khalil's green card and deport the non-American activist.
A judge stepped in to temporarily block the deportation order for the man who led the student protest at the university.
Trump boasted that Khalil's arrest is the 'first of many to come' to other non-citizen activists.
Education Secretary Linda McMahon announced she sent letters to 60 colleges putting them on notice and demanding they protect Jewish students.
The schools on her list include most of the Ivy League institutions and several state universities.
'The Department is deeply disappointed that Jewish students studying on elite U.S. campuses continue to fear for their safety amid the relentless antisemitic eruptions that have severely disrupted campus life for more than a year. University leaders must do better,' McMahon said in a statement.
She added that taxpayer funding is 'a privilege and it is contingent on scrupulous adherence to federal antidiscrimination laws.'
'This is not your, your peaceful protester holding up a sign... In some cases, they're assaulting police officers,' McDowell told DailyMail.com of the bill targeting 'Hamas sympathizers' and 'terrorists in training.' Pictured: Pro-Palestinian protesters conceal their identities as they clash with law enforcement on the campus of UCLA on May 2, 2024
If the latest bill proposal passes into law, it would add two years to the sentence of anyone convicted of destroying federal property while disguised.
It's already outlawed to commit a crime or evade law enforcement while wearing a mask or concealing their identity in at least 15 states.
In California, it is illegal for any person to don a mask or other disguise when attempting to evade public offenses. Ohio bans people from committing misdemeanors while concealing their identity.
Both North Carolina and Florida also prohibit people from wearing disguises while entering public property of the respective states.
