Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS) has recently proposed a bill that specifically focuses on former President Donald Trump, aiming to revoke his Secret Service protection in the event of a conviction during his trial. The House Homeland Security Committee Democrats shared this information on X, highlighting Thompson’s role as the committee’s leading member and the former chairman of the now-defunct January 6 Select Committee. The legislation introduced by Thompson seeks to guarantee that “convicted felons sentenced to prison” are deprived of Secret Service protection.
Thompson said:
“Unfortunately, current law doesn’t anticipate how Secret Service protection would impact the felony prison sentence of a protectee-even a former President. It is regrettable that it has come to this, but this previously unthought-of scenario could become our reality. Therefore, it is necessary for us to be prepared and update the law so the American people can be assured that protective status does not translate into special treatment-and that those who are sentenced to prison will indeed serve the time required of them.”
JUST IN: Congressman @BennieGThompson introduced legislation to ensure no Secret Service protection for convicted felons sentenced to prison.
READ MORE HERE: https://t.co/pwSYtd5sVN pic.twitter.com/1N65BHk5yQ
— House Homeland Security Committee Democrats (@HomelandDems) April 19, 2024
The Denying Infinite Security and Government Resources Allocated toward Convicted and Extremely Dishonorable (DISGRACED) Former Protectees Act says that protection will “terminate for any person upon sentencing following conviction for a Federal or State offense that is punishable for a term of imprisonment of at least one year.”
Thompson says the DISGRACED Former Protectees Act “would remove the potential for conflicting lines of authority within prisons and allow judges to weigh the sentencing of individuals without having to factor in the logistical concerns of convicts with Secret Service protection.”
The fact sheet also points out that “former President Donald J. Trump’s unprecedented 91 felony charges in Federal and State courts across the country have created a new exigency that Congress must address to ensure Secret Service protection does not interfere with the criminal judicial process and the administration of justice.”
The Chief Political Correspondent for the Washington Examiner pointed out the obvious purpose of the act would be to make it easier for someone to bring harm to Donald Trump:
“Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson ran the January 6 committee, which mixed elements of show trial and reality series. Focused solely on Trump, of course. Now, Thompson wants to take away Trump’s Secret Service protection if Trump is convicted on any of the 88 felony charges levelled against him by elected Democratic prosecutors and a Biden Justice Department appointee. Obvious subtext here is that removing USSS would make it easier for someone to kill Trump, which is arguably the goal of Thompson’s bill, H.R. 8081: The DISGRACED Former Protectees Act.”
