Official Summaries

Matthew Lawrence Perna Act of 2025

This bill limits certain actions by the federal government related to the criminal prosecution and sentencing of individuals who are charged with a political protest offense. A political protest offense is a federal criminal offense that arises out of protest activities and is not a crime of violence. The bill also makes other changes that apply more broadly to curtail certain investigations and prosecutions of federal criminal offenses.

With respect to individuals who are charged with a political protest offense, the bill

• prohibits pretrial detention, 
• generally requires the federal criminal trial to begin within 70 days of being charged or making an initial appearance before the court, and
• expresses the sense of Congress that the sentence imposed should be consistent with the minimum sentence provided by the guideline range applicable to the defendant.

With respect to investigations and prosecutions of federal criminal offenses more broadly, the bill

• makes the United States potentially liable for malicious overprosecution committed by federal investigative or law enforcement officers,
• limits the use of a national security authority (e.g., the Central Intelligence Agency) against a U.S. citizen,
• requires federal agencies to disclose whether the United States is or was investigating or surveilling a U.S. citizen when that information is requested under the Freedom of Information Act, and 
• allows a defendant on trial for a criminal offense in the District of Columbia to change the venue of the trial to the U.S. district court that covers his or her primary residence.

Current Full Text

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 277 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 277

   To amend title 18, United States Code, to provide protections for 
        nonviolent political protesters, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 9, 2025

   Ms. Greene of Georgia (for herself and Mr. Massie) introduced the 
 following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, 
and in addition to the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, for 
a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 
                          committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend title 18, United States Code, to provide protections for 
        nonviolent political protesters, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Matthew Lawrence Perna Act of 
2025''.

SEC. 2. RELEASE OF A DEFENDANT PENDING TRIAL FOR NONVIOLENT POLITICAL 
              PROTESTERS; RECOVERY FOR CERTAIN DEFENDANTS DETAINED.

    Section 3142 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding 
at the end the following:
    ``(k) No Detention for Nonviolent Political Protesters.--
            ``(1) In general.--A person charged with a covered 
        political protest offense, and not charged with any crime of 
        violence (as such term is defined in section 16(a)) may not be 
        detained under this section.
            ``(2) Covered political protest offense defined.--In this 
        subsection, the term `covered political protest offense' means 
        an offense--
                    ``(A) arising out of political protest activities; 
                and
                    ``(B) which is not a crime of violence (as such 
                term is defined in section 16(a)).
    ``(l) Civil Action.--A person who is tried for a Federal offense 
and is not convicted, or charged with an offense and the charges are 
dropped, and the person was detained during the pendency of the trial 
or charges, may bring an action in a district court of the United 
States against the United States and any officer or employee of the 
United States seeking compensatory damages.''.

SEC. 3. SPEEDY TRIAL FOR NONVIOLENT POLITICAL PROTESTERS.

    Section 3161(a) of title 18, United States Code, is amended by 
inserting after ``In any case involving a defendant charged with an 
offense'' the following: ``(including a covered political offense (as 
such term is defined in section 3142(k))''.

SEC. 4. REMEDIES AVAILABLE FOR MALICIOUS OVERPROSECUTION.

    (a) In General.--Section 2680(h) of title 28, United States Code, 
is amended by inserting ``malicious overprosecution,'' after ``false 
arrest, malicious prosecution,''.
    (b) Definitions.--Section 2671 of title 28, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``The term `malicious prosecution' means charging a person with an 
offense when the official filing such charges knows or has reason to 
know that there is not probable cause to believe that the person 
committed the offense, and because of personal or political animosity, 
bias, or otherwise not in the interest of justice.
    ``The term `malicious overprosecution' means malicious prosecution 
that involves charging a person with an offense that is grossly 
disproportionate to conduct alleged.''.

SEC. 5. LIMITATION ON USE OF NATIONAL SECURITY AUTHORITY.

    (a) In General.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a 
national security authority may not be used by a Government official 
against a citizen of the United States, unless the citizen is 
intentionally acting as agent of a foreign power or entity.
    (b) Definition.--In this section, the term ``national security 
authority'' means--
            (1) any authority under the National Security Act of 1947 
        or any authority conferred onto any of the departments, 
        agencies, councils, committees or any other entities created, 
        established, restructured, or otherwise governed by such Act; 
        and
            (2) any authority exercised by the National Security 
        Division of the Department of Justice, the National Security 
        Branch of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, or the 
        Intelligence Branch of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

SEC. 6. DISCLOSURE OF INVESTIGATIONS OF CITIZENS OF THE UNITED STATES.

    The provisions of section 552(b) of title 5, United States Code, do 
not apply with respect to a request made by a United States citizen 
that requests information about whether the United States is or was 
surveilling or investigating the citizen.

SEC. 7. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING SENTENCING COVERED POLITICAL 
              PROTEST OFFENSES.

    It is the sense of Congress that in sentencing a defendant for a 
covered political protest offense (as such term is defined in section 
3142 of title 18, United States Code), a judge should impose a sentence 
that is consistent with the minimum sentence provided by the guideline 
range applicable to the defendant.

SEC. 8. TRANSFER OF VENUE.

    Notwithstanding any other provision of law, in the criminal trial 
of any individual for the commission of a criminal offense in the 
District of Columbia, the individual on trial may choose venue for the 
proceedings and trial to be in the district court for the district and 
division embracing that individual's primary residence.
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