Ernst, Hassan Strengthen Criminal Penalties for Violent Crimes Directed by Foreign Adversaries
WASHINGTON – After reports of criminals that Iran recruited to help carry out violent crimes and assassinations against U.S. citizens, including President Trump, U.S. Senators Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) and Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) introduced theirDETERRENCE Act to combat Iran’s increasingly aggressive efforts to target Americans. This bipartisan legislation would increase criminal penalties for individuals who commit, or attempt to commit, violent crimes in the United States on behalf of foreign adversaries.
Ernst and Hassan have previously written to the DOJ to request that they share efforts that foreign governments have undertaken to enlist criminal actors to commit crimes in the United States, identify if there has been any increase in these activities, and explain their strategy in thwarting foreign government activity.
Last week, while discussing the DETERRENCE Act with Bret Baier on Fox News, Ernst stated that “you cannot target Americans on American soil.”
“After years of appeasement, Iran knows no bounds,” said Senator Ernst. “Now that the regime has become so emboldened that it even attempted to assassinate President Trump, Senator Hassan and I are taking action to ensure any bad actor thinks twice before working with our adversaries or messing with any of our citizens. The bipartisan DETERRENCE Act will create severe consequences for anyone helping carry out Iran’s malign mission of ‘death to America’ and make any criminal organization think twice before targeting Americans on our own soil.”
“Foreign adversaries like Iran are working with criminal organizations in the United States to kill people on American soil,” said Senator Hassan. “This bipartisan legislation will take the existing criminal penalties on gangs and criminals who engage in violent behavior and make them even stronger for when they act on behalf of a foreign government. I will work with my colleagues to pass this legislation as quickly as possible to send a clear message that the United States will not tolerate this outrageous behavior.”
Read the one-pager about the DETERRENCE Act here.
The DETERRENCE Act would subject criminals working for foreign adversaries to longer prison sentences, specifically increasing criminal penalties for the following federal crimes when the crimes are committed under U.S. jurisdiction on behalf of foreign governments:
- Engaging in a murder-for-hire scheme
- Murdering or attempting to murder federal officials
- Murdering or attempting to murder former federal officials, or their families, because of their official actions
- Assaulting former federal officials, or their families, because of their official actions
- Kidnapping or attempted kidnapping
- Threats of violence using a dangerous weapon against current and former federal officials, as well as their families, because of their official actions
- Stalking
Background:
Ernst has been working to halt Iran’s threat to Americans and crack down on their funding of crimes in the United States.
She also exposed the Biden-Harris administration for funding Iran’s terrorism through endless appeasement and demanded action to stop Iranian crime on U.S. soil.
Ernst is leading the PUNISH Act to enforce “maximum pressure” sanctions on Iran until the State Department can certify that Iran has not supported any attempt in the last five years to kill a U.S. citizen or a former or current U.S. official.
###
