Simplify the following text for a Grade 8 native English-speaking person.
Original: To this day , any town crier in the British Commonwealth is protected under old English law that they are `` not to be hindered or heckled while performing their duties '' . To injure or harm a town crier was seen as an act of treason against the ruling monarchy .
Simplified: Anything done by the town crier was done in the name of the ruling monarch and harming a town crier was considered to be treason .