Yet-to-be-introduced legislation spurred by conservative organizer Charlie Kirk’s assassination would raise penalties for politically motivated violent crimes. (Dana DiFilippo | New Jersey Monitor)
A New Jersey Republican’s proposal to add additional penalties for politically motivated violent crimes won bipartisan support on Monday.
Sen. Brian Stack (D-Hudson) will join Sen. Doug Steinhardt (R-Warren) as a prime sponsor of yet-to-be-introduced legislation that would create heightened penalties and mandatory minimum sentences for certain violent crimes that were motivated by political animus.
Steinhardt’s push to boost penalties for political violence follows the assassination of Republican organizer and influencer Charlie Kirk, who was fatally shot during an event at a Utah university last week.
“Working together is the only way forward, and it sends a crucial message that this isn’t a partisan issue. Political violence hurts everyone and it’s happening too often to too many people. We must act now to deter it and hold violent offenders accountable,” Steinhardt said in a statement.
Kirk’s killing was the latest in a spate of politically motivated slayings.
In June, a gunman posing as a police officer killed Minnesota state Representative Melissa Hortman, a Democrat, and her husband and critically wounded Minnesota Sen. John Hoffman, a Democrat, and his wife. The shootings prompted New Jersey lawmakers to seek greater protections for their personal information.
“Politically motivated violence is an attack on the foundation of our democracy. No one in this country should live in fear for speaking their mind, and elected officials must be able to govern free from threats, harassment, or attempts to silence them for their beliefs,” Stack said in a statement.
The bill has yet to be formally introduced. Lawmakers can introduce bills when the Legislature is called for a quorum, though the Legislature is expected to stay in recess until after this year’s Assembly and gubernatorial elections.
The scope and severity of the additional penalties contemplated by the bill are unclear. Under existing law, bias intimidation offenses — what New Jersey calls hate crimes — raise the degree of a given offense by one.
For example, an individual charged with second-degree aggravated assault could face five to 10 years in prison, while an individual charged with the same crime with a bias intimidation upgrade could face 10 to 20 years.
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