HR347-Federal Restricted Areas

According to Pastebin’s March 4, 2012 posting the following is the Enrolled Bill HR347 sponsored by Rep. Thomas Rooney (R-Florida) that passed with a 388-3 vote and was submitted to the President on March 1, 2012.

AT THE SECOND SESSION - Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday, the third day of January, two thousand and twelve An Act - To correct and simplify the drafting of section 1752 (relating to restricted buildings or grounds) of title 18, United States Code. 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 `Federal Restricted Buildings and Grounds Improvement Act of 2011'. SEC. 2. RESTRICTED BUILDING OR GROUNDS. -  Section 1752 of title 18, United States Code, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 1752. Restricted building or grounds

(a) Whoever--

(1) knowingly enters or remains in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority to do so;

(2) knowingly, and with intent to impede or disrupt the orderly conduct of Government business or official functions, engages in disorderly or disruptive conduct in, or within such proximity to, any restricted building or grounds when, or so that, such conduct, in fact, impedes or disrupts the orderly conduct of Government business or official functions; 

(3) knowingly, and with the intent to impede or disrupt the orderly conduct of Government business or official functions, obstructs or impedes ingress or egress to or from any restricted building or grounds; or

(4) knowingly engages in any act of physical violence against any person or property in any restricted building or grounds; or attempts or conspires to do so, shall be punished as provided in subsection (b).

(b) The punishment for a violation of subsection (a) is—

(1) a fine under this title or imprisonment for not more than 10 years, or both, if--

(A) the person, during and in relation to the offense, uses or carries a deadly or dangerous weapon or firearm; or

(B) the offense results in significant bodily injury as defined by section 2118(e)(3); and

(2) a fine under this title or imprisonment for not more than one year, or both, in any other case.

(c) In this section--

(1) the term `restricted buildings or grounds' means any posted, cordoned off, or otherwise restricted area-

(A) of the White House or its grounds, or the Vice President's official residence or its grounds;

(B) of a building or grounds where the President or other person protected by the Secret Service is or will be temporarily visiting; or

(C) of a building or grounds so restricted in conjunction with an event designated as a special event of national significance; and

(2) the term `other person protected by the Secret Service' means any person whom the United States Secret Service is authorized to protect under section 3056 of this title or by Presidential memorandum, when such person has not declined such protection.'

According to Reason Hit & Run’s article, Rooney’s aide (Mahassey) said this is simply a DC-centric update of an already existing law-Section 1752 of title 18 . . . already protects those under Secret Service (SS) protection except in DC where these protections fall under local laws against trespassing, etc. Mahassey said the SS requested the changes because "right now it’s not a federal violation to jump the fence and run across the White House lawn, this bill makes it a federal violation.” Congressman Amash’s Deputy Chief of Staff, Will Adams, said the law updates as Mahassey said-It brings the DC trespassing violations under the federal umbrella. Adams explained it all comes down to the words "willfully" and "knowingly". The word "willfully" is gone; subtle legal stuff with respect to the mental state being required to be charged with a crime. Adams pointed to US v Bursey conducted by a South Carolina magistrate judge and upheld by the US Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. Brett Bursey was convicted in early 2004 for his October 2002 arrest; he remained in an area the SS had coordinated off for 20 or so minutes when the President was temporarily visiting an airbase (trespassing charges were dismissed) but law is precedent and interpretation. Adams summed it up an email: The bill makes it illegal to knowingly enter or remain in a restricted building or grounds without legal authority to do so. According to 18 U.S.C. § 3056, the SS is authorized to protect “visiting heads of foreign states or foreign governments” and “other distinguished foreign visitors to the United States.” So it's hard to know the exact implications of this one-word change when the National Defense Authorization Act may or may not allow for indefinite detainment of citizens.

In my opinion as the laws (1752 and 3056) were already on the books, the bill expands SS authority and provides for tougher penalties. This bill should not affect Wall Street or other protesters not in a restricted area but would apply to unauthorized attendance in Congress or at other government functions.