Quick Hit:

Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn introduced a bill Wednesday to make the doxxing of law enforcement during immigration or criminal operations a federal crime.

Key Details:

• The proposed Protecting Law Enforcement from Doxxing Act would impose up to five years in prison and financial penalties on those who intentionally reveal the identities of law enforcement officers to interfere with investigations or immigration actions.

• The legislation follows the actions of Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell, whose office published information on a city website identifying federal agents involved in a major ICE and Tennessee Highway Patrol operation.

• In a press conference this week, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said masked ICE agents would eventually be named, arguing, “This is America. This is not the Soviet Union.” Blackburn called his remarks dangerous and irresponsible.

Diving Deeper:

Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn introduced a bill Wednesday that would make it a federal crime to doxx law enforcement personnel engaged in criminal or immigration enforcement, directly targeting what she calls a growing and reckless trend among Democrat officials to expose federal agents’ identities. The Protecting Law Enforcement from Doxxing Act would carry penalties of up to five years in prison and fines for anyone who releases an officer’s name “with the intent to obstruct a criminal investigation or immigration enforcement operation.”

The move comes in response to actions by Democrat leaders like Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell, whose administration reportedly publicized the names of ICE agents involved in a recent multi-agency operation that led to nearly 200 detentions. According to Department of Homeland Security figures, 95 of those detained had prior criminal convictions, and 31 had previously been deported and reentered the country illegally. Despite these findings, O’Connell opposed the ICE operation and promoted a fundraiser for the families of those arrested.

“Just last week, Nashville Mayor O’Connell and his office doxxed federal law enforcement officers after the Trump administration worked with Tennessee Highway Patrol to arrest criminal illegal aliens,” Blackburn said in a statement. “My Protecting Law Enforcement from Doxxing Act would make this illegal and hold blue city mayors accountable for obstructing enforcement of our immigration laws by putting law enforcement officers in harm’s way.”

O’Connell defended the public disclosure as part of a transparency effort and initially hosted the federal agent information on a city-maintained website. Some names were later removed following criticism.

But the controversy deepened this week after New York Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, the House Minority Leader, publicly called for ICE agents engaged in so-called “aggressive overreach” to be named, criticizing them for wearing face coverings. “Every single one of them… will be identified,” Jeffries said. “This is America. This is not the Soviet Union.”