Sen. Richard Blumenthal on Tuesday renewed calls for Congress to make it a federal crime for anyone to attack or threaten a member of the news media doing their job.
Mr. Blumenthal, Connecticut Democrat, touted his previously proposed Journalist Protection Act on the heels of a violent video depicting President Trump shooting members of the media being reportedly shown at a pro-Trump conference held at the president’s Miami resort last week.
“What we have to address is the continuing threat of physical violence, whether by guns or other means, against the press that may intimidate them in their vital news-gathering operation,” Mr. Blumenthal said during an event.
“It is a priority for me to protect news-gathering operations no matter what their form,” Mr. Blumenthal added.
Passage of the Journalist Protect Action would make it a federal crime to assault a member of the media taking part in news-gathering or with the intent of intimidating them from doing as much. Convictions would carry a maximum sentence of six years in federal prison and a fine.
Mr. Blumenthal’s bill and a companion version offered in the House by Rep. Eric Swalwell of California have a combined total of 16 sponsors, all Democrats.
The New York Times first reported over the weekend that the violent video depicting the president was shown during a three-day conference held last week by the group American Priority at Trump National Doral Miami. The video is an edited scene from a movie, “Kingsman: The Secret Service,” in which a gunman waged a shooting spree inside of a church; in the version played at the conference, Mr. Trump’s head was superimposed on the killer’s body, and the logos of media outlets and the faces of Mr. Trump’s critics were superimposed on the shooter’s victims.
Mr. Trump has not seen the video but “strongly condemns” it, White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham said Monday.
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