![\"Inside](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/insideWashington1_1.png\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inboxGet our free Inside Washington emailGet our free Inside Washington email<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
A conservative think tank that backed President Donald Trump\u2019s anti-DEI push<\/a> has its sights set on a new target.<\/p>\n The Manhattan Institute has been a front-line supporter of Trump\u2019s efforts to dismantle diversity, equity and inclusion programs<\/a> across the U.S. It also championed \u201cbroken windows\u201d policing<\/a>, the idea that cracking down on smaller offenses like vandalism can help deter more serious crimes.<\/p>\n Now, they\u2019re advocating for state lawmakers to target protest-related crimes by introducing harsher penalties for groups of demonstrators who commit offenses like vandalism, blocking roads or property destruction.<\/p>\n Protests have long been a target for the right, and Trump has repeatedly blamed violent demonstrations on the \u201cradical left\u201d in the U.S<\/a>. And now, this latest push by the Manhattan Institute, which was first reported by Wired<\/a>, has some legal experts worried.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is aimed at trying to silence public demonstrations, public assemblies, and really give those in power tools to dismantle systems and groups who are trying to even the playing field for the public and hold those in power accountable,\u201d Darrell Hill, the policy director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona, told The Independent. <\/p>\n Tal Fortgang, a legal policy fellow at the Manhattan Institute, is urging state lawmakers to introduce bills that would classify protest-related crimes, like disorderly conduct or vandalism, as felony \u201ccivil terrorism\u201d offenses. <\/p>\n Since these crimes are typically treated as misdemeanors, upgrading them to felonies would likely mean harsher consequences for offenders, such as years-long prison sentences and higher fines. A felony conviction can also impact your ability to vote, own a gun and get a job.<\/p>\n Fortgang defines \u201ccivil terrorism\u201d as the \u201cmass commission of minor crimes to intimidate or coerce people into adopting a policy,\u201d he told The Independent. Earlier this month, he published \u201cModel Legislation: An Act to Combat Civil Terrorism<\/a>,\u201dwith the intention that lawmakers can use it as a blueprint to draft their own \u201ccivil terrorism\u201d laws.<\/p>\n \u201cCivil terrorists identify misdemeanors that are minor when committed in conventional ways, but can be enormously disruptive and even dangerous when committed in creative ways. The prime example of this is blocking a road. One person intentionally blocking a road is a nuisance, and has committed the minor crime of disorderly conduct. A large group of people blocking a road, however, is dangerous,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Fortgang argued there\u2019s a \u201cmismatch between the severity of the crimes committed by civil terrorists and the punishments currently codified in state law,\u201d and that those laws need to be \u201cupdated.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat is what our model legislation does. Identifying the exacerbating elements, and making misdemeanors into felonies when they are present, is a logical way to (a) deter this illegal behavior in the first place and (b) ensure that prosecutors actually see arrests through to convictions,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Fortgang\u2019s ideas have already caught on in some states, including Arizona, where lawmakers are considering a bill that would establish the criminal classification of \u201ccivil terrorism,\u201d a class 5 felony, and enhance penalties for protest-related crimes. <\/p>\n But Hill, from the state\u2019s ACLU chapter, said he\u2019s concerned these heightened penalties would have a \u201cchilling\u201d effect on people\u2019s willingness to protest. He also said it\u2019s also possible that protesters who aren\u2019t directly involved in illegal acts may face charges due to the \u201cbroad way these laws are written.”<\/p>\n \u201cSome of what has been proposed by lawmakers who are in Arizona, who are working with groups like the Manhattan Institute, would really criminalize protest activity and criminalize people who aren’t directly involved in criminal activity,\u201d Hill explained.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you’re at a protest and a person picks up a water bottle and throws it at a car, that could be used to charge all the people who are at the protest, or helped organize the protest, with some type of criminal penalty, even though they had no specific intent to commit that act of aggression themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n He added: \u201cThat\u2019s really the chilling part. It’s not just the criminal penalties, it\u2019s that you can be charged or labeled a civil terrorist just for participating in a protest, not for any kind of disruptive or criminal act you do yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n Representative Michael Way, the Arizona state lawmaker who sponsored the bill, did not respond to The Independent\u2019s request for comment. The bill has already been approved by the Arizona House of Representatives, and is now under consideration by the state\u2019s Senate. <\/p>\n In response to critics, Fortgang said his \u201ccivil terrorism\u201d framework \u201cwould not change anyone\u2019s right to protest in any way.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cThe First Amendment does not mean you can break whatever laws you want as long as you are being expressive or protesting. You can’t block roads. You can’t vandalize. You can’t trespass. Our model legislation does not criminalize any currently lawful behavior. It just raises the penalties for knowingly engaging in illegal behaviors in especially destructive ways,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n \u201cWhat actually chills legal speech is conflating the actual First Amendment right to protest with illegal conduct done while expressing oneself,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n In Utah, lawmakers have already adopted legislation introducing harsher penalties for protesters who block roads or commit crimes while wearing masks. The bill, signed by Governor Spencer Cox in March, passed with broad bipartisan support. <\/p>\n The state\u2019s ACLU chapter expressed concern before the bill was passed, noting that it<\/a> \u201cmay have a significant chilling effect on the public\u2019s willingness to engage in lawful protest for causes they believe in.\u201d <\/p>\n![\"Demonstrators](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/GettyImages-2257689472-(1).jpg\")
Demonstrators march down a Minneapolis street during an anti-ICE protest in January. The Manhattan Institute, a right-wing think tank, is calling for harsher penalties for protesters who commit crimes like vandalism or road-blocking (AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n![\"Pro-Trump](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/GettyImages-1285674610.jpg\")
Pro-Trump protesters march through Washington, D.C., in 2020. Critics have warned the Manhattan Institute’s ‘civil terrorism’ framework could have a ‘chilling’ effect on people’s willingness to protest (Getty Images)<\/p>\n![\"Anti-ICE](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/GettyImages-2239241838.jpg\")
Anti-ICE protesters clash with police during a demonstration in Portland, Oregon, in October 2025. Lawmakers in some states, including Utah and Arizona, are already looking to crack down on protest-related crimes (Getty Images)<\/p>\n![\"Protesters](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/GettyImages-2271840888.jpg\")
Protesters hold signs protesting the Trump administration in Phoenix, Arizona, in April. Arizona lawmakers are currently considering their own version of a ‘civil terrorism’ bill (Getty Images)<\/p>\n