


Ron Paul                                    Paul Broun,                       Justin Amash
The US House of Representatives voted 388-to-3 in favor of H.R. 347 late Monday, a bill which is being dubbed the Federal Restricted  Buildings and Grounds Improvement Act of 2011. In the bill, Congress  officially makes it illegal to trespass on the grounds of the White  House, which, on the surface, seems not just harmless and necessary, but  somewhat shocking that such a rule isn’t already on the books. The  wording in the bill, however, extends to allow the government to go  after much more than tourists that transverse the wrought iron White  House fence.
Under the act, the government is also given the  power to bring charges against Americans engaged in political protest  anywhere in the country.
Under current law, White House  trespassers are prosecuted under a local ordinance, a Washington, DC  legislation that can bring misdemeanor charges for anyone trying to get  close to the president without authorization. Under H.R. 347, a federal  law will formally be applied to such instances, but will also allow the  government to bring charges to protesters, demonstrators and activists  at political events and other outings across America.
The new  legislation allows prosecutors to charge anyone who enters a building  without permission or with the intent to disrupt a government function  with a federal offense if Secret Service is on the scene, but the law  stretches to include not just the president’s palatial Pennsylvania  Avenue home. Under the law, any building or grounds where the president  is visiting —  even temporarily —  is covered, as is any building or  grounds “restricted in conjunction with an event designated as a special event of national significance.”
It’s not just the president who would be spared from protesters, either.
Covered  under the bill is any person protected by the Secret Service. Although  such protection isn’t extended to just everybody, making it a federal  offense to even accidentally disrupt an event attended by a person with  such status essentially crushes whatever currently remains of the right  to assemble and peacefully protest. Read more…