Dear Members of the Minnesota House and Senate:
We, the undersigned organizations, urge you to oppose the Felony Free Speech Bills:SF 386 / HF 254, HF 129, and SF 355. These bills would have a chilling impact on the constitutionally guaranteed free speech rights of Minnesotans.
Here in Minnesota, we care about fairness and the right to use our voices to shape the future of our communities. We have a long tradition of standing up for what we care about and bringing people together to make their voices heard. Right now, corporations are looking to create special laws to serve their own interests at the expense of our rights as Minnesotans. In fact, they’re attempting this across the country. Minnesotans are not asking for these bills, and bills such as this are an assault on all levels of our democracy and are contrary to the fundamental principles of our state and country.
SF 386 / HF 254 makes it easier for Minnesotans to be charged with a felony by changing the phrase “significantly disrupt” to simply “disrupt,” which unnecessarily lowers the bar for a felony charge to insignificant disruptions. This bill would raise the legal risks for Minnesotans engaging in expressing free speech near anything deemed critical infrastructure. A variety of past peaceful public expressions of support for workers’ rights and environmental and racial justice would have been felonies under this proposal. This is overly broad and harsh.
Additionally, a new felony trespass crime is created with this bill, with potential fines of up to $10,000, five years imprisonment and restitution. The provision is not consistent with our constitutionally guaranteed right to free speech. While we have seen similar bills introduced in prior years, this version this year includes three provisions that aim to further infringe on the rights of those peacefully protesting by: 1)expanding the reach of the felony penalties to protests near areas where new facilities are under construction, 2) removing the requirement that the person protesting be asked to leave; and 3) adding mandatory restitution. Creating a new crime at a time where we are critically looking at incarceration rates and the harm caused to communities by harsh criminal penalties is the wrong direction for our state. Indigenous communities and water protectors, in particular, will be targeted as they peacefully exercise their free speech rights to protect their lands, culture, and livelihood. Under current law, trespassing and damaging critical infrastructure are already illegal. These bills are unnecessary and harmful.
HF 129 seeks to chill dissent and free speech by penalizing individuals or organizations who attend or support a protest where critical infrastructure is damaged. The language for this bill comes directly from the corporate-backed American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). The bill uses excessively broad language in creating penalties to anyone who “recruits, trains, aids, advises, hires, counsels…” while applying those penalties in a narrow and politically motivated manner only at selectively-defined critical infrastructure sites. Opposition to this legislation has been broad and included organizations working for free speech and civil liberty, Native American rights, environmental organizations and unions.
In short, Minnesotans of all backgrounds recognize that this legislation is a dangerous attack on a vibrant democracy to further corporate interests. Free speech is the critical infrastructure of our democracy. We must avoid taking actions that would suppress free speech or make Minnesotans afraid to exercise their constitutionally guaranteed rights.
On behalf of our members across the state, we thank you for your work to protect free speech.
Sincerely,
cc: Governor Tim Walz and Lt Governor Peggy Flanagan
