I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 999 

To prohibit the destruction of civil rights memorials, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 14, 2023 

Mr. COHEN (for himself, Mr. BISHOP of Georgia, Ms. LEE of California, and 

Ms. TLAIB) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To prohibit the destruction of civil rights memorials, and 

for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Civil Rights Legacy 

5 Protection Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON DESTRUCTION OF CERTAIN PROP7 ERTY. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 65 of title 18, United 

9 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol10 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘§ 1370. Prohibiting destruction of civil rights memo2 rials 

3 ‘‘(a) DESTRUCTION OF PROPERTY.—Whoever, in a 

4 circumstance described in subsection (b), intentionally de5 faces, damages, or destroys a protected memorial under 

6 subsection (c) or any structure, plaque, statue, or monu7 ment on public property that commemorates a covered 

8 civil rights event or a covered civil rights figure shall— 

9 ‘‘(1) in the case that such defacement, damage, 

10 or destruction is in an amount that is equal to or 

11 less than $5,000, be required to complete up to 300 

12 hours of community service, fined under this title, or 

13 imprisoned not more than a year; or 

14 ‘‘(2) in the case that such defacement, damage, 

15 or destruction is in an amount that is more than 

16 $5,000, be fined under this title or imprisoned not 

17 more than 3 years. 

18 ‘‘(b) CIRCUMSTANCES.—A circumstance described in 

19 this subsection is that— 

20 ‘‘(1) in committing the offense described in sub21 section (a), the defendant travels or causes another 

22 to travel in interstate or foreign commerce, or uses 

23 the mail or an instrumentality of interstate or for24 eign commerce; or 

25 ‘‘(2) the structure, plaque, statue, or monument 

26 described in subsection (a) is located on property 


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1 owned by, or under the jurisdiction of, the Federal 

2 Government. 

3 ‘‘(c) PROTECTED MEMORIALS.—The following are 

4 protected memorials: 

5 ‘‘(1) Emmett Till Memorial, Mississippi. 

6 ‘‘(2) Mississippi Freedom Trail Markers, Mis7 sissippi. 

8 ‘‘(3) Edmund Pettus Bridge, Alabama. 

9 ‘‘(4) Birmingham Civil Rights National Monu10 ment, Alabama. 

11 ‘‘(5) Civil Rights Memorial Center, Memorial to 

12 Peace & Justice, Alabama. 

13 ‘‘(6) Virginia Civil Rights Memorial, Virginia. 

14 ‘‘(7) Landmark for Peace Memorial in Dr. Mar15 tin Luther King Jr. Park, Indiana. 

16 ‘‘(8) Harriet Ross Tubman Memorial, Massa17 chusetts. 

18 ‘‘(9) National Civil Rights Museum at the Lor19 raine Motel, Tennessee. 

20 ‘‘(10) Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Monument, 

21 Colorado. 

22 ‘‘(11) Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad 

23 National Monument, Maryland. 

24 ‘‘(12) African American Civil War Memorial, 

25 Washington, DC. 


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1 ‘‘(13) Freedom Riders National Monument, 

2 Alabama. 

3 ‘‘(14) African Burial Ground National Monu4 ment, New York. 

5 ‘‘(15) Charles Young Buffalo Soldiers National 

6 Monument, Ohio. 

7 ‘‘(16) Reconstruction Era National Park, South 

8 Carolina. 

9 ‘‘(17) George Washington Carver National 

10 Monument, Missouri. 

11 ‘‘(18) Medgar and Myrlie Evers National 

12 Monument, Mississippi. 

13 ‘‘(19) Markers on the Civil Rights Trail. 

14 ‘‘(d) RESTITUTION.—Whoever is convicted of an of15 fense under this section shall be ordered to pay restitution. 

16 ‘‘(e) COVERED EVENTS AND FIGURES.—In this sec17 tion— 

18 ‘‘(1) the term ‘covered civil rights figure’ means 

19 any figure on the list submitted by the United 

20 States Commission on Civil Rights pursuant to sec21 tion 3(a) of the Civil Rights Legacy Protection Act; 

22 and 

23 ‘‘(2) the term ‘covered civil rights event’ means 

24 any event on the list submitted by the United States 


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1 Commission on Civil Rights pursuant to section 3(a) 

2 of the Civil Rights Legacy Protection Act.’’. 

3 (b) TABLE OF SECTIONS.—The table of sections for 

4 chapter 65 of title 18, United States Code, is amended 

5 by adding at the end the following item: 

‘‘1370. Prohibiting destruction of civil rights memorials.’’. 

6 SEC. 3. UNITED STATES COMMISSION ON CIVIL RIGHTS. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 

8 date of enactment of this Act, the United States Commis9 sion on Civil Rights shall develop and submit to the Attor10 ney General a list of covered civil rights events and covered 

11 civil rights figures as follows: 

12 (1) COVERED CIVIL RIGHTS EVENT.—For pur13 poses of developing a list of covered civil rights 

14 events, the United States Commission on Civil 

15 Rights shall include on the list any event that— 

16 (A) memorializes the struggle to secure 

17 equal rights for groups suffering from discrimi18 nation on the basis of race, religion, disability, 

19 gender identity, or sexual orientation during the 

20 Civil Rights Movement and other social move21 ments; and 

22 (B) left a positive impression on a unit of 

23 local government, a State, or the United States. 

24 (2) COVERED CIVIL RIGHTS FIGURE.—For pur25 poses of developing a list of covered civil rights figVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:56 Mar 07, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H999.IH H999

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1 ures, the United States Commission on Civil Rights 

2 shall include on the list any person who— 

3 (A) is known for dedication and advocacy 

4 toward expanding personal civil liberties and 

5 ending racial and other forms of discrimination, 

6 disenfranchisement, and segregation; or 

7 (B)(i) worked to secure equal rights for 

8 groups suffering from discrimination on the 

9 basis of race, religion, disability, gender iden10 tity, or sexual orientation during the Civil 

11 Rights Movement and other social movements; 

12 and 

13 (ii) has left a positive impression and leg14 acy on a unit of local government, a State, or 

15 the United States. 

16 (b) MODIFICATIONS TO LIST.—The United States 

17 Commission on Civil Rights shall review annually and 

18 modify as necessary the list submitted by the Commission 

19 pursuant to (a). 

20 (c) PUBLISHING LIST.—The Attorney General shall 

21 ensure that the list submitted by the United States Com22 mission on Civil Rights pursuant to subsection (a), and 

23 any modifications made by the Commission pursuant to 


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1 subsection (b), shall be made available to the public on 

2 the Department of Justice website. 

Æ 


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