Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., came close to having a normal, sane thought Tuesday when he offered sympathy for journalist Andy Ngo, who was savagely beaten in Portland this weekend by liberal activists.
“I don’t agree with much of what [Andy Ngo] ever says,” Swalwell said in a tweet. “But that’s not the point. He should not be harmed for his views and his attackers should be prosecuted.”
He added, “And Congress should pass my Journalist Protection Act, which makes it a federal crime to assault or batter a journalist.”
Swalwell is not kidding. His bill really does that. That does not make it an especially good idea.
I don’t agree with much of what @MrAndyNgo ever says. But that’s not the point. He should not be harmed for his views and his attackers should be prosecuted. *And Congress should pass my Journalist Protection Act, which makes it a federal crime to assault or batter a journalist.
— Eric Swalwell (@ericswalwell) July 2, 2019
Assault and battery are already crimes, journalist or no journalist. Also, by design, Swalwell’s proposal would make it necessary for the state to define who is and who is not a journalist. It is hard enough to do this for shield laws that purport to protect journalists’ sources. But if we also try to define “reporter” for purposes of assault charges, the results will not be pretty. Defendants expecting simple assault charges in local court could suddenly find themselves accused of federal crimes because that guy they punched in the bar was a journalist.
Is this really what we want?
Swalwell’s proposal also opens the door to the government handpicking who is and is not a “real” reporter. No thank you. A state-maintained registry of “real” journalists is at least as big a threat to a free press as roving bands of feral liberal activists.
All that said, I guess this bill is not Swalwell’s worst idea. Recall that he is the same lawmaker who, upon hearing that some Americans would likely resist his various gun confiscation proposals, suggested the U.S. government can always use nukes on uncooperative citizens.
It is good that the congressman can recognize legitimate problems such as gun violence and violence against journalists. Maybe someday he will also recognize that top-down, federal solutions are not always the answer
