Federal 'Back the Blue' Act Reintroduced: Violence Against Police 'Will Not Be Tolerated'

U.S. Sens. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala. and Katie Britt, R-Ala., have both joined the reintroduction of the federal “Back the Blue” Act, which would increase penalties for those who target law enforcement officers, according to a news release from Tuberville’s office.

Tuberville cosponsored this legislation in the 118th Congress in 2023.

“Our law enforcement officers put their lives on the line every day when they go into the field to protect us,” Tuberville said in the release.

“We have to send a message loud and clear: violence against law enforcement will not be tolerated. After years of soft-on-crime policies that have weakened our justice system, it is important that we take a hard stance against any and every targeted attack toward our police officers.”

Tuberville and Britt were joined by nearly all of the Senate GOP in cosponsoring the legislation.

According to the release, the act would:

Strengthen Laws to Protect Police Officers

• Create a new federal crime for killing, attempting to kill, or conspiring to kill a federal judge, federal law enforcement officer, or federally funded public safety officer. The offender would be subject to the death penalty and a mandatory minimum sentence of 30 years if death results; the offender would otherwise face a minimum sentence of 10 years.
• Create a new federal crime for assaulting a federally funded law enforcement officer with escalating penalties, including mandatory minimums, based on the extent of any injury and the use of a dangerous weapon. However, no prosecution can be commenced absent certification by the Attorney General that prosecution is appropriate.
• Create a new federal crime for interstate flight from justice to avoid prosecution for killing, attempting to kill, or conspiring to kill a federal judge, federal law enforcement officer, or federally funded public safety officer. The offender would be subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years for this offense.

Create a Specific Aggravating Factor for Federal Death Penalty Prosecutions

• Clarify that the murder or attempted murder of a law enforcement officer or first responder is a statutory aggravating factor for purposes of the federal death penalty.

Limit Federal Habeas Relief for Murders of Law Enforcement Officers

• Impose time limits and substantive limits on federal courts’ review of challenges to state-court convictions for crimes involving the murder of a public safety officer, when the public safety officer was engaged in the performance of official duties or on account of the performance of official duties.

Limit Recovery of Certain Damages and Fees for Individuals Engaged in Felonies

• Limit the type of civil damages and attorney’s fees recoverable by a criminal as a result of purported injuries incurred during the commission of a felony or crime of violence.

Expand Self-Defense and Second Amendment Rights for Law Enforcement Officers

• Allow law enforcement officers, subject to limited regulation, to carry firearms into federal facilities and other jurisdictions where such possession is otherwise prohibited.

The act has been endorsed by the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP), National Association of Police Organizations (NAPO), Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association (FLEOA), Major County Sheriffs of America (MCSA), National Narcotic Officers’ Associations’ Coalition (NNOAC), Association of State Criminal Investigative Agencies (ASCIA), and the Sergeants Benevolent Association NYPD.

“I will always back the blue and work to make sure these men and women are fully equipped with everything they need to keep us safe,” Tuberville said in the release.

Other Alabama legislators were successful this year in getting a localized “back the blue” bill passed.

Under HB202, Alabama police are justified in any use of physical force “performed within the law enforcement officer’s discretionary authority” unless the officer’s actions against a person violate that person’s rights under the U.S. Constitution or the Alabama Constitution.

Since Oct. 1, an officer charged for excessive use of force can ask for a pretrial hearing to determine if immunity applies under the new standards.

The judge would then hold the hearing within 45 days of the request and issue a decision within 45 days after the hearing.

In cases where the judge rules the officer does not qualify for immunity, the Alabama Supreme Court would review the decision.

The pretrial hearings are in addition to pretrial hearings already available to all citizens under the state’s stand-your-ground law, through which defendants can claim they acted in self-defense or in defense of another.

The bill was sponsored by Rep. Rex Reynolds, a former Huntsville police chief, and Sen. Lance Bell, an attorney and former deputy in St. Clair County.

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey said in May she agreed with Bell’s stance that, “This is about protecting them while they’re protecting us.

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