[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8239 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 8239
To amend title 18, United States Code, to prohibit harassment of
persons lawfully exercising or seeking to exercise the First Amendment
right of religious freedom at a place of religious worship, within a
distance of 100 feet or closer to such place of religious worship, and
for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 9, 2026
Mr. Suozzi (for himself and Mr. Miller of Ohio) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend title 18, United States Code, to prohibit harassment of
persons lawfully exercising or seeking to exercise the First Amendment
right of religious freedom at a place of religious worship, within a
distance of 100 feet or closer to such place of religious worship, 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 ``Safeguarding Access to Congregations
and Religious Establishments from Disruption Act'' or the ``SACRED
Act''.
SEC. 2. FREEDOM OF ACCESS TO PLACES OF RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.
(a) In General.--Chapter 13 of title 18, United States Code, is
amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 251. Freedom of access to places of religious worship
``(a) Prohibited Activities.--Whoever, in or affecting interstate
or foreign commerce--
``(1) engages in any course of conduct within 100 feet of a
place of religious worship, with the intent to intimidate or
obstruct the passage of any person exercising or seeking to
exercise the First Amendment right to religious freedom
therein, and in a manner that causes any person to reasonably
fear for their physical safety while entering or exiting the
place of religious worship; or
``(2) within 100 feet of a place of religious worship,
intentionally approaches and harasses any person seeking to
exercise the First Amendment right to religious freedom, within
8 feet of such person,
shall be punished as provided in subsection (b).
``(b) Penalties.--Whoever violates this section shall--
``(1) in the case of a first offense, be fined in
accordance with this title, or imprisoned not more than one
year, or both; and
``(2) in the case of a second or subsequent offense after a
prior conviction under this section, be fined in accordance
with this title, or imprisoned not more than 3 years, or both;
except that for an offense involving exclusively nonviolent conduct,
the fine shall be not more than $10,000 and the length of imprisonment
shall be not more than six months, or both, for the first offense; and
the fine shall, notwithstanding section 3571, be not more than $25,000
and the length of imprisonment shall be not more than 18 months, or
both, for a subsequent offense; and except that if bodily injury
results, the length of imprisonment shall be not more than 10 years,
and if death results, it shall be for any term of years or for life.
``(c) Civil Remedies.--
``(1) Right of action.--
``(A) In general.--Any person aggrieved by reason
of the conduct prohibited by subsection (a) may
commence a civil action for the relief set forth in
subparagraph (B), except that such an action may be
brought only by a person lawfully exercising or seeking
to exercise the First Amendment right of religious
freedom at a place of religious worship or by the
entity that owns or operates such place of religious
worship.
``(B) Relief.--In any action under subparagraph
(A), the court may award appropriate relief, including
temporary, preliminary or permanent injunctive relief
and compensatory and punitive damages, as well as the
costs of suit and reasonable fees for attorneys and
expert witnesses. With respect to compensatory damages,
the plaintiff may elect, at any time prior to the
rendering of final judgment, to recover, in lieu of
actual damages, an award of statutory damages in the
amount of $5,000 per violation.
``(2) Action by attorney general of the united states.--
``(A) In general.--If the Attorney General of the
United States has reasonable cause to believe that any
person or group of persons is being, has been, or may
be injured by conduct constituting a violation of this
section, the Attorney General may commence a civil
action in any appropriate United States District Court.
``(B) Relief.--In any action under subparagraph
(A), the court may award appropriate relief, including
temporary, preliminary or permanent injunctive relief,
and compensatory damages to persons aggrieved as
described in paragraph (1)(B). The court, to vindicate
the public interest, may also assess a civil penalty
against each respondent--
``(i) in an amount not exceeding $10,000
for a nonviolent offense and $15,000 for other
first violations; and
``(ii) in an amount not exceeding $15,000
for a nonviolent offense and $25,000 for any
other subsequent violation.
``(3) Actions by state attorneys general.--
``(A) In general.--If the Attorney General of a
State has reasonable cause to believe that any person
or group of persons is being, has been, or may be
injured by conduct constituting a violation of this
section, such Attorney General may commence a civil
action in the name of such State, as parens patriae on
behalf of natural persons residing in such State, in
any appropriate United States District Court.
``(B) Relief.--In any action under subparagraph
(A), the court may award appropriate relief, including
temporary, preliminary or permanent injunctive relief,
compensatory damages, and civil penalties as described
in paragraph (2)(B).
``(d) Rules of Construction.--Nothing in this section shall be
construed--
``(1) to prohibit any expressive conduct (including
peaceful picketing or other peaceful demonstration) occurring
outside places of religious worship protected from legal
prohibition by the First Amendment to the Constitution; or
``(2) to provide exclusive criminal penalties or civil
remedies with respect to the conduct prohibited by this
section, or to preempt State or local laws that may provide
such penalties or remedies.
``(e) Definitions.--For purposes of this section:
``(1) The term `obstruct' means to render impassable
ingress to or egress from a place of religious worship, or to
render passage to or from a place of religious worship
unreasonably difficult or hazardous.
``(2) The term `intimidate' means to place a person in
reasonable apprehension of imminent physical injury to himself
or herself or to another person.
``(3) The term `harass' means to commit a serious act or
engage in a course of conduct directed at a specific person
that interferes with their freedom of movement, and is intended
to and does place that person in reasonable fear of physical
harm, or is intended to and does cause that person to
reasonably experience substantial emotional distress.
``(4) The term `course of conduct' means a series of acts
over a period of time, however short, indicating a continuity
of purpose.
``(5) The term `serious act' means a single act of
threatening, intimidating, or violent conduct.
``(6) The term `place of religious worship' means any
building, structure or space that is used primarily for
religious worship activities or to provide religious education
or instruction, and includes the parking lot, parking lot
entrance, driveway and driveway entrance of any such building,
structure, or space.''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections for chapter 13 of
title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the
following:
``251. Freedom of access to places of religious worship.''.
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