In the weeks since the deadly Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, at least 13 states have taken up legislation to crack down on protests. The push, critics say, is a revival of broader anti-protest efforts that emerged amid the Black Lives Matter demonstrations that rocked the country in the summer, NBC News reports.
Lawmakers in Florida, Indiana, Mississippi, Nebraska, Arizona, Maryland, Minnesota, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Virginia and Washington filed bills that critics claim are using the violence at the Capitol to target social justice protests more broadly. Many of the bills are similar or identical to ones introduced in those states last year.
"These legislations came about as a result to push us over the summer," said Emmanuel Cannady, the co-founder of Black Lives Matter South Bend, Indiana. "There's a cloaking that's happening right now."
Since 2016, 15 states have enacted legislation to limit protests, according to the International Center for Not-for-Profit Law, which tracks related state and federal legislation. A total of 17 states have pending legislation aimed at regulating demonstrations.
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