Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee Introduces Bill Criminalizing Speech Deemed ‘White Supremacist’

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) speaks at a Congressional Black Caucus press conference on Capitol Hill in Washington on July 1, 2020. Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) has introduced the Leading Against White Supremacy (LAWS) Act of 2023, a bill that would criminalize speech around certain topics and label it “hate speech.”

The Texas Democrat filed HR 61 “to expand the scope of hate crimes” and “to prevent and prosecute white supremacy inspired hate crime and conspiracy to commit white supremacy inspired hate crime,” the bill reads.