I am writing to demand you oppose H.R. 4015, a bill that is as authoritarian as it is unconstitutional. This bill attempts to criminalize the use of roadways in protests—an essential form of collective action—and represents a blatant attack on the First Amendment and on the right of the people to hold power to account.
Let’s be absolutely clear: this bill does not “protect commerce” or “ensure public safety.” It weaponizes federal law to punish political dissent. It targets peaceful protesters with up to five years in federal prison for the vague, sweeping offense of “delaying or affecting commerce” by “blocking a public road.” That describes nearly every meaningful protest in modern U.S. history—from the Selma-to-Montgomery marches to the anti-war demonstrations of the 1960s, to recent civil rights actions and climate justice mobilizations. Under this bill, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. would have been prosecuted.
A healthy democracy doesn’t just tolerate protest—it requires it. Public disruptions, especially in times of widespread injustice, are not nuisances. They are alarm bells that force society to confront what it would rather ignore. This legislation’s true purpose is not to stop inconvenience, but to silence opposition, intimidate activists, and shield the powerful from accountability.
The U.S. government has no business criminalizing the tactics that movements across the political spectrum have used to demand justice. This bill reeks of authoritarianism and state overreach. It mirrors the playbooks of illiberal regimes that try to suppress dissent by wrapping repression in the language of law and order.
If Congress passes H.R. 4015, it will send a chilling message: that dissent is no longer welcome in the United States unless it is passive, silent, and invisible. That is not democracy. That is tyranny with a PR team.
I urge you to speak out publicly and vote NO on this disgraceful piece of legislation. If you support this bill, you are supporting the erosion of constitutional freedoms and aligning yourself with the forces that seek to shut down democratic engagement.
We the people are watching. And we will not forget who stood up for our rights—and who tried to take them away.
First sent on June 27 by BlueCollarJew
