United States 119th Congress Status: In Committee 2 R cosponsors

HR 277 — Matthew Lawrence Perna Act of 2025

Last action — Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Intelligence (Permanent Select), for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. 2
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed House
  4. 4
    Passed Senate
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill is in committee in the House. Introduced January 09, 2025. It must pass committee before a floor vote.

Next likely step: a committee vote, then a floor vote in the House.

Odds of enactment

Low chance

Based on the sponsor, cosponsors, and committee posture, this bill has a low chance of becoming law.

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A statistical estimate from our own model of past outcomes — an insight, not a guarantee. Policymaking is volatile.

Prognosis

Stalled 18% · moderate confidence

  • In Committee

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 2 sponsors

    1 primary, 1 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Single-party support

    Sponsorship is currently within one party (2 R).

Based on stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes, and cross-state momentum — a description of the observable signals, not a prediction.

In plain language

HR 277 is a bill related to legislation discussed in House committees.

HR 277 was recently introduced in the House and has been referred to various committees for review. These committees will consider the bill's provisions before further action.

Summary

Matthew Lawrence Perna Act of 2025This bill limits certain actions by the federal government related to the criminal prosecution and sentencing of individuals who are charged with a political protest offense. A political protest offense is a federal criminal offense that arises out of protest activities and is not a crime of violence. The bill also makes other changes that apply more broadly to curtail certain investigations and prosecutions of federal criminal offenses.With respect to individuals who are charged with a political protest offense, the billprohibits pretrial detention, generally requires the federal criminal trial to begin within 70 days of being charged or making an initial appearance before the court, andexpresses the sense of Congress that the sentence imposed should be consistent with the minimum sentence provided by the guideline range applicable to the defendant.With respect to investigations and prosecutions of federal criminal offenses more broadly, the billmakes the United States potentially liable for malicious overprosecution committed by federal investigative or law enforcement officers,limits the use of a national security authority (e.g., the Central Intelligence Agency) against a U.S. citizen,requires federal agencies to disclose whether the United States is or was investigating or surveilling a U.S. citizen when that information is requested under the Freedom of Information Act, and allows a defendant on trial for a criminal offense in the District of Columbia to change the venue of the trial to the U.S. district court that covers his or her primary residence.

Bill Text

How this bill changes current law

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Compared against current U.S. Code AI-generated reading aid — verify against the official bill.

The bill amends existing laws to provide specific protections for nonviolent political protesters, limiting detention, establishing civil remedies for wrongful detention, and making related procedural changes.

  • 18 U.S.C. § 3142

    (k) No Detention for Nonviolent Political Protesters.-- (1) In general.--A person charged with a covered political protest offense, and not charged with any crime of violence (as such term is defined in section 16(a)) may not be detained under this section. (2) Covered political protest offense defined.--In this subsection, the term `covered political protest offense' means an offense-- (A) arising out of political protest activities; and (B) which is not a crime of violence (as such term is defined in section 16(a)).

    This provision prohibits the detention of individuals charged with certain nonviolent political protest offenses.

  • 18 U.S.C. § 3142

    (l) Civil Action.--A person who is tried for a Federal offense and is not convicted, or charged with an offense and the charges are dropped, and the person was detained during the pendency of the trial or charges, may bring an action in a district court of the United States against the United States and any officer or employee of the United States seeking compensatory damages.

    This provision allows individuals wrongfully detained or tried for federal offenses to seek compensatory damages.

  • 18 U.S.C. § 3161

    (including a covered political offense (as such term is defined in section 3142(k))

    This change ensures that cases involving covered political protest offenses are prioritized for a speedy trial.

  • 28 U.S.C. § 2680

    malicious overprosecution,

    This amendment includes 'malicious overprosecution' in the list of claims against the United States that can lead to liability.

  • 28 U.S.C. § 2671

    The term `malicious prosecution' means charging a person with an offense when the official filing such charges knows or has reason to know that there is not probable cause to believe that the person committed the offense, and because of personal or political animosity, bias, or otherwise not in the interest of justice. The term `malicious overprosecution' means malicious prosecution that involves charging a person with an offense that is grossly disproportionate to conduct alleged.

    This defines 'malicious prosecution' and 'malicious overprosecution', clarifying the conditions for such claims.

Action History

  1. Introduced in House

  2. Introduced in House

  3. Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Intelligence (Permanent Select), for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

  4. Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Intelligence (Permanent Select), for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 1 co-sponsors · 545 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (1)

Not signed on (545)

545 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 545 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Subjects

public-safety civil-rights
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

What does HR 277 do?
Matthew Lawrence Perna Act of 2025This bill limits certain actions by the federal government related to the criminal prosecution and sentencing of individuals who are charged with a political protest offense. A political protest offense is a federal criminal offense that arises out of protest activities and is not a crime of violence. The bill also makes other changes that apply more broadly to curtail certain investigations and prosecutions of federal criminal offenses.With respect to individuals who are charged with a political protest offense, the billprohibits pretrial detention, generally requires the federal criminal trial to begin within 70 days of being charged or making an initial appearance before the court, andexpresses the sense of Congress that the sentence imposed should be consistent with the minimum sentence provided by the guideline range applicable to the defendant.With respect to investigations and prosecutions of federal criminal offenses more broadly, the billmakes the United States potentially liable for malicious overprosecution committed by federal investigative or law enforcement officers,limits the use of a national security authority (e.g., the Central Intelligence Agency) against a U.S. citizen,requires federal agencies to disclose whether the United States is or was investigating or surveilling a U.S. citizen when that information is requested under the Freedom of Information Act, and allows a defendant on trial for a criminal offense in the District of Columbia to change the venue of the trial to the U.S. district court that covers his or her primary residence.
Who sponsors HR 277?
HR 277 is sponsored by Greene, Marjorie Taylor (Republican) and Massie, Thomas (Republican).
What is the current status of HR 277?
This bill is in committee in the House. Introduced January 09, 2025. It must pass committee before a floor vote.
Where can I track HR 277?
Track HR 277 free on One Click Politics — get push/email alerts when it moves.

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