Rioters who engage in criminal activity and who hide behind masks while doing so are the target of a new bill that would introduce stiffer penalties for this activity.

Rep. Dan Donovan (R.-N.Y.), along with fellow Republican Reps. Peter King (N.Y.), Paul Gosar (Ariz.) and Ted Budd (N.C.), introduced the Unmasking Antifa Act of 2018 on June 8, but it has gotten renewed attention all this week as lawmakers spread the word and as others push back.

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Antifa is short for “anti-fascist action” and is a network of loosely affiliated far-left anarchist and communist groups; they have orchestrated violent protests and demonstrations against conservatives, populists and others deemed to be “fascists” or “Nazis.”

“Whoever, whether or not acting under color of law, while in disguise, including while wearing a mask, injures, oppresses, threatens, or intimidates any person … in the free exercise or enjoyment of any right or privilege secured to him by the Constitution or laws of the United States,” the bill states, “shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 15 years, or both.”

On Wednesday, Rep. Donovan explained in a tweet the reasoning behind the bill:

“Americans have the natural right to speak and protest freely; it is not a right to throw Molotov cocktails and beat people who assemble peacefully while hiding behind a mask,” he said.

“Penalizing people for violently infringing on constitutional rights while hiding behind a mask is a fairly reasonable proposal, but you wouldn’t know it [after] reading some of these extreme defenses of violent anarchy,” he continued.

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He also tweeted this in an effort to clarify its purpose:

Donovan received pushback on Twitter from those who argued the congressman was attempting to criminalize protests in general.

Donovan especially engaged in debate with Democrat activist Melissa Mark-Viverito of New York City about the bill. She served as speaker of the New York City Council from 2014 to 2017 and was a council member for the 8th district from 2006 to 2017.

“This is a particularly low point in short congressional career. This is chilling,” Mark-Viverito argued.

Donovan responded with the below comment:

Donovan appears to be referring to convicted Puerto Rican terrorist Oscar Lopez Rivera, as LifeSiteNews noted, also referring to a New York Post article. He and Mark-Viverito — then the speaker of the City Council — were seen side by side last June during a portion of the Puerto Rican Day Parade in Manhattan.

Others on the Left are pushing back hard against Bill HR 6054 as well. “This is another draconian measure to actually criminalize dissent in the United States,” said Scott Crow, a former Antifa organizer and author, according to CNN. “Because the law, even if it doesn’t explicitly state ‘leftists who mask up’ — that’s who the largest potential target of the law is, far more than white nationalists.”

Ryan Patrick, a spokesperson for Rep. Donovan, told The Independent the bill was not intended to target any one group in particular. He said the bill merely would update existing civil rights statutes to add penalties for wearing masks or disguises.

Kyle Becker is a content writer and producer with LifeZette. Follow him on Twitter.