The government of China censors most protests, so when they break through, it provides a glimpse into tensions between the state and society. But this week’s mass protest in a small city, over a school bullying case, shows the government’s continued preference for suppressing dissent rather than meaningfully addressing the grievances that animate it.
The US government is also trying to make it harder for citizens to exercise their right to protest. A spike in anti-protest bills has coincided with President Trump’s return to the White House, with 2025 on pace to be the second worst year for new anti-protest legislation since ICNL began tracking the trend in 2017.
Those efforts include proposals that seek to expand criminal punishments for constitutionally protected protesters, such as those calling attention to the dangers of climate change or the US-backed war in Gaza. They also extend to civil penalties, which can bury activists in expensive litigation for years.
One example is a bill in New Jersey that would let judges impose fines on protesters who fail to wear helmets or masks while participating in public demonstrations. The ACLU says the bill would threaten freedom of speech, assembly and petition.
Other efforts are aimed at casting protesters as criminals, and using antiterror and antiracketeering laws to deport legal residents or quell campus activism. These campaigns, combined with the Trump administration’s high-profile use of armed federal agents to disperse crowds at immigration raids, suggest that the self-described law-and-order president is on a course to make a full-scale crackdown of civil liberties a reality.