Republican Congressman Introduces Legislation to Strip Convicted Rioters of Federal Welfare Benefits

Republican Congressman Jim Banks of Indiana introduced legislation to strip coronavirus unemployment benefits and other federal welfare payments to individuals convicted of felony riot offenses. The Support Peaceful Protest Act was introduced in the House of Representatives on Friday.

The legislation would remove eligibility for buffed coronavirus unemployment benefits for anyone convicted of criminal conduct at and during the course of a protest. The federal government has been paying for buffed welfare payments in the duration of the coronavirus pandemic, and Banks raised concern that left-wing rioters are taking advantage of the welfare to embrace a lifestyle of full-time riot agitation and political crime.