H.R. 8239

[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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