Holding Rioters Accountable Act of 2020

Holding Rioters Accountable Act of 2020

This bill permits the Department of Justice (DOJ) to withhold certain funding from an office of a state or local prosecutor, district attorney, or state attorney general if DOJ determines the office abused prosecutorial discretion by failing to prosecute crimes arising from riots or destructive protest activities.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8301 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 8301

   To withhold a percentage of Federal funding from State and local 
prosecutors who fail to faithfully prosecute crimes related to protests 
                               and riots.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 17, 2020

   Mrs. Lesko (for herself, Mr. Jordan, Mr. Tiffany, Mr. Duncan, Mr. 
Reschenthaler, Mr. Hice of Georgia, Mr. Steube, Mr. Budd, Mr. Burgess, 
  Mr. Gibbs, Mr. Yoho, Mr. Weber of Texas, Mr. Gaetz, Mr. Collins of 
  Georgia, Mr. Guest, and Mr. Keller) introduced the following bill; 
          which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To withhold a percentage of Federal funding from State and local 
prosecutors who fail to faithfully prosecute crimes related to protests 
                               and riots.

    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 ``Holding Rioters Accountable Act of 
2020''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) Opportunistic rioters and violent extremists are 
        destroying public and private property with impunity.
            (2) Local and Federal law enforcement officers are on the 
        front lines every night attempting to prevent the mass 
        destruction of property.
            (3) Law enforcement officers are doing their jobs by 
        arresting those who are found to be committing the violence and 
        destruction.
            (4) In certain jurisdictions, however, local and State 
        prosecutors are turning a blind eye to the destruction and 
        violence.
            (5) These actions do a disservice to the law enforcement 
        officers faithfully carrying out their responsibility to uphold 
        the rule of law.
            (6) The Office of Justice Programs of the Department of 
        Justice provided approximately $5,000,000,000 in grants and 
        funding to State and local governments in fiscal year 2020.
            (7) District attorney and State attorney general offices 
        have abused the use of prosecutorial discretion and fail to 
        protect private and public property or fail to confront and 
        address violent riots and looting should not receive Federal 
        support.
    (b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to provide authority for 
the Attorney General to withhold Federal grant amounts and other 
funding provided to State and local prosecutors, district attorneys, 
and State attorney general offices if such prosecutors or offices fail 
to faithfully uphold the rule of law by failing to properly prosecute 
criminal acts committed during riots and protests.

SEC. 3. WITHHOLDING OF PERCENTAGE OF DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE GRANTS AND 
              OTHER FUNDING SOURCES FROM STATE AND LOCAL PROSECUTORS, 
              DISTRICT ATTORNEYS, AND STATE ATTORNEYS GENERAL.

    (a) In General.--The Attorney General may withhold from all amounts 
that would otherwise be awarded or made available under part JJ of 
title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 
U.S.C. 10671 et seq.) or a COVID-19 related emergency funding program 
to a State prosecutor's office, a district attorney's office, or a 
State attorney general's office in a fiscal year by the Department of 
Justice--
            (1) not more than 10 percent of such amounts if the 
        Attorney General determines, in accordance with subsection (b), 
        that the office has abused the use of prosecutorial discretion 
        by failing to prosecute crimes stemming from riots or other 
        violent or destructive protest activities; and
            (2) not more than 20 percent of such amounts if the 
        Attorney General determines that, in the course of an abuse of 
        the use of prosecutorial discretion determined under paragraph 
        (1), if a crime that was not prosecuted was an assault against 
        a law enforcement officer.
    (b) Standard for Determination.--
            (1) In general.--A State prosecutor's office, a district 
        attorney's office, or a State attorney general's office shall 
        be determined to have abused the prosecutorial discretion of 
        the office under subsection (a) if the office refuses, as a 
        general policy rather than on a case-by-case determination, to 
        seek prosecution for crimes committed by individuals engaged in 
        or connected to rioting, looting, or other violent or 
        destructive activities, unless such policy is in accordance 
        with an order issued by a court of law.
            (2) Limitation.--A State prosecutor's office, a district 
        attorney's office, or a State attorney general's office shall 
        not be determined to have abused the prosecutorial discretion 
        of the office under subsection (a) if the Attorney General 
        determines that such exercise of prosecutorial discretion is 
        properly made based on the strength of evidence, individual 
        facts in the case, cooperation of the defendant, or other 
        appropriate prosecutorial decision making factors.
            (3) Requirement.--The Attorney General shall establish 
        criteria for determining whether a State prosecutor's office, a 
        district attorney's office, or a State attorney general's 
        office has abused the prosecutorial discretion of the office 
        under subsection (a).
    (c) Review of Relevant Information.--In making a determination 
under subsection (a), the Attorney General shall--
            (1) review any arrest statistics, information, or 
        documents, provided by a law enforcement agency that conducted 
        authorized operations connected to a riot or other violent or 
        destructive protest activity;
            (2) review any prosecution statistics, information, or 
        documents, provided by the office being reviewed relating to 
        indictment, dismissal, or conviction of individuals charged 
        with any crime connected to a riot or other violent or 
        destructive protest activity; and
            (3) review any statements, orders, or other information 
        made by an executive political leader with responsibility for 
        appointing or otherwise overseeing the operations and 
        activities of the office being reviewed.
    (d) Restricted Use of Funds.--In the case of a State that the 
Attorney General determines is a State described in subsection (a) 
because a local district attorney or prosecutor has abused 
prosecutorial discretion by failing to prosecute crimes stemming from 
riots or other violent or destructive protest activities, the State may 
not--
            (1) make the amounts made available under a program 
        described in subsection (a) available for use by the local 
        government; and
            (2) to the maximum extent practicable, expend the amounts 
        made available under a program described in subsection (a) in 
        any community or location subject to the jurisdiction of the 
        local government.
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