“The anti-protesting bills have alarmed civil liberties watchdogs.
“’This trend of anti-protest legislation dressed up as ‘obstruction’ bills is deeply troubling,’ said Lee Rowland, a senior staff attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union, who views such bills as violations of the First Amendment. ‘A law that would allow the state to charge a protester $10,000 for stepping in the wrong place, or encourage a driver to get away with manslaughter because the victim was protesting, is about one thing: chilling protest.’”