New York Assembly Bill A00857

New York 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 1/8/25
• Refer: 1/8/25
• Refer: 1/7/26

Caption

Establishes the crime of assault of a protester in the first, second, and third degrees.

Summary

This bill creates three new Penal Law offenses: assault of a protester in the third, second, and first degrees. Each offense applies when a person intentionally causes physical injury or serious physical injury to someone engaged in “protest activities,” which the bill defines as peaceful picketing or other peaceful demonstrations protected by the federal and state constitutions. The gradations depend on the level of injury and whether a deadly weapon or dangerous instrument is used, with third degree classified as a class E felony, second degree as a class C felony, and first degree as a class B felony. The bill also amends sentencing provisions so that a conviction for first-degree assault of a protester would require any prison term to run consecutively to an undischarged term the defendant was already serving at the time of the assault. In addition, it adds the new offenses to New York’s violent felony offense lists, which affects sentencing treatment and collateral consequences under the Penal Law.

Impact

The bill would amend the New York Penal Law by adding new sections 120.80, 120.85, and 120.90, and by updating sections 70.25 and 70.02 to incorporate the new offenses into sentencing and violent felony classifications. It would create a protest-specific assault framework that distinguishes attacks on people engaged in protected peaceful demonstrations from ordinary assault offenses, and it would expose defendants to felony prosecution and, for the most serious offense, mandatory consecutive sentencing. The measure would affect protesters, demonstrators, and defendants accused of violence at protests, as well as prosecutors and courts applying the new offense definitions and sentencing rules.

Sentiment

Based on the bill text and the absence of recorded committee debate or votes in the provided materials, the available sentiment is best characterized as supportive of stronger legal protections for peaceful protesters. The bill’s structure suggests a policy choice to treat assaults on demonstrators as a distinct and serious public-safety concern. No contrary viewpoints are documented in the supplied record, so there is no evidence here of formal opposition or divided voting.

Contention

The main potential point of contention is the creation of a protest-specific assault category, which may raise questions about whether the law is necessary given existing assault statutes and whether it treats one class of victims differently from others. Another possible issue is the definition of “protest activities,” which is limited to peaceful picketing or peaceful demonstrations protected by the constitutions; disputes could arise over whether a particular event qualifies. The mandatory consecutive sentencing rule for first-degree offenses may also be controversial because it removes judicial flexibility in cases involving defendants already serving prison terms.