Senator Kennedy introduces bill targeting ideologically motivated violence

WASHINGTON. (KTAL/KMSS) – According to a news release, U.S. Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has introduced the Ideologically Motivated Violence Accountability Act, a bill that would allow courts to consider whether a crime was driven by ideological or religious motives when determining a capital sentence.

Kennedy said the legislation aims to send a strong message against politically or religiously motivated violence.

“Political violence has no place in America – period, full stop,” Kennedy said in a news release, “Until our justice system sends a clear message to people who want to push their agenda through violence, these acts of hate will continue.”

The bill would add ideological motivation as an aggravating factor during sentencing, allowing prosecutors to more forcefully address violence targeting victims for their political or religious beliefs. It defines such crimes as those committed “wholly or in part because of the victim’s actual or perceived political or religious beliefs, affiliation, expression, or activity.”

Kennedy introduced the measure following the September 2025 assassination of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk and amid recent politically motivated attacks, including the killing of former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and attempts on the lives of President Donald Trump, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, and U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.