Right to Record Act of 2026

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 9189 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 9189

To establish an express cause of action for violations of the right to
record, observe, or peacefully protest law enforcement activities, and
                          for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              June 8, 2026

  Mr. Frost introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
                       Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

To establish an express cause of action for violations of the right to
record, observe, or peacefully protest law enforcement activities, and
                          for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Right to Record Act of 2026''.

SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING FIRST AMENDMENT AND RIGHT TO
              RECORD, OBSERVE, OR PEACEFULLY PROTEST.

    (a) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United
        States protects, among other things, the right to record law
        enforcement officers and other public officials in public view,
        observe the actions of law enforcement officers and other
        public officials in public view, protest peacefully, and engage
        in other expressive activities; and
            (2) while the First Amendment already protects the right to
        record, observe, or peacefully protest law enforcement,
        Congress can enhance the remedies available to individuals who
        are deprived of this right by establishing an express statutory
        cause of action for such rights violations.

SEC. 3. RIGHT TO RECORD, OBSERVE, OR PEACEFULLY PROTEST LAW ENFORCEMENT
              ACTIVITIES.

    (a) Right to Record, Observe, or Peacefully Protest Law Enforcement
Activities.--A person has the right to record, observe, or peacefully
protest law enforcement activities, except in cases described under
subsection (c).
    (b) Cause of Action.--
            (1) Liability of officers.--Any Federal law enforcement
        officer who, while acting under color of law, violates a
        person's right to record, observe, or peacefully protest law
        enforcement activities shall be liable to the party injured in
        a civil action with respect to such violation in the
        appropriate district court for redress, including an award of
        the greater of actual damages or statutory damages in the
        amount of $25,000 for each violation, and punitive damages up
        to $100,000 for each violation engaged in with malice or
        reckless disregard for the federally protected rights of the
        party injured.
            (2) Liability of the united states.--If, while acting under
        color of law, any Federal law enforcement officer violates a
        person's right to record, observe, or peacefully protest law
        enforcement activities, the United States shall be liable to
        the party injured for the conduct of the officer in a civil
        action with respect to such violation in the appropriate
        district court for redress, including the greater of an award
        of actual damages or statutory damages in the amount of $25,000
        for each violation, and punitive damages up to $100,000 for
        each violation engaged in with malice or reckless disregard for
        the federally protected rights of the party injured, regardless
        of whether a policy or custom of the Federal law enforcement
        agency that employs or contracts with the officer caused the
        violation, and regardless of whether the officer has any
        defense or immunity from suit or liability. This paragraph
        shall constitute a waiver of sovereign immunity with respect to
        Federal law enforcement agencies for any claim brought under
        this Act. Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to limit
        or preclude any legal, equitable, or other remedy that is
        available, under this section or under any other source of law,
        against an individual officer.
            (3) Violations.--A violation of the right to record,
        observe, or peacefully protest law enforcement activities
        includes the following:
                    (A) Preventing or attempting to prevent a person
                from recording, observing, or peacefully protesting law
                enforcement activities.
                    (B) Threatening, intimidating, or coercing a person
                with any negative consequences, including the addition
                of the personal information or biometric
                characteristics of the person into any database, in
                response to the person's recording, observing, or
                peacefully protesting law enforcement activities.
                    (C) Pursuing a person to a different location
                because the person recorded, observed, or peacefully
                protested law enforcement activities.
                    (D) Attempting to surveil or use surveillance
                powers to attempt to identify a person in order to
                intimidate or take other retaliatory action against
                that person because the person recorded, observed, or
                peacefully protested law enforcement activities.
                    (E) Commanding that a person cease recording,
                observing, or peacefully protesting law enforcement
                activities when the person was not prohibited by law or
                court order to engage in such activities.
                    (F) Stopping, seizing, searching, ticketing, or
                arresting a person because the person recorded,
                observed, or peacefully protested law enforcement
                activities.
                    (G) Demanding to see the identification of a person
                or interrogating or otherwise harassing a person
                because the person recorded, observed, or peacefully
                protested law enforcement activities.
                    (H) Unlawfully seizing property or instruments used
                by a person to record, observe, or peacefully protest
                law enforcement activities.
                    (I) Unlawfully destroying or seizing a recorded
                image or recorded images of law enforcement activities,
                or copying such a recording of law enforcement
                activities, without the consent of the person who
                recorded it or without approval from an appropriate
                court.
                    (J) Otherwise retaliating against a person because
                the person recorded, observed, or peacefully protested
                law enforcement activities.
    (c) Limitation.--
            (1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), a
        person has no right to record, observe, or peacefully protest
        law enforcement activities pursuant to subsection (a) if the
        person physically restricts or restrains an officer taking
        official actions while acting under color of law.
            (2) Exception.--Paragraph (1) shall not apply to the mere
        act of recording, observing, or peacefully protesting law
        enforcement activities, or positioning oneself to record,
        observe, or peacefully protest law enforcement activities, even
        if such action is taken close to, in front of, or near the
        expected path of an officer acting under color of law.
    (d) Attorney's Fees and Costs.--The court shall award reasonable
attorney's fees and costs to a prevailing plaintiff.
    (e) Training.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of
this Act, and annually thereafter, the head of each Federal law
enforcement agency shall provide to every Federal law enforcement
officer training on how to enforce the law while respecting the right
to record, observe, or peacefully protest law enforcement activities.
    (f) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Federal law enforcement agency.--The term ``Federal law
        enforcement agency'' means any agency of the United States
        authorized to enforce Federal criminal law or Federal
        immigration law.
            (2) Federal law enforcement officer.--The term ``Federal
        law enforcement officer''--
                    (A) has the meaning given the term in section 115
                of title 18, United States Code; and
                    (B) includes an immigration officer.
            (3) Immigration officer.--The term ``immigration officer''
        has the meaning given the term ``immigration officer'' in
        section 101 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C.
        1101).
            (4) Law enforcement activities.--The term ``law enforcement
        activities'' means the official actions taken in public view by
        an officer acting under color of law.
            (5) Observe.--The term ``observe'' means to watch or
        otherwise perceive.
            (6) Peacefully protest.--The term ``peacefully protest''
        means to engage in constitutionally protected expression or
        assembly.
            (7) Public view.--The term ``public view'' means anything
        that can be seen from any place where an individual cannot be
        deemed to be trespassing, including parks, sidewalks, and
        roads, or a privately owned place where the individual is
        lawfully present.
            (8) Record.--The term ``record'' means creating a written,
        visual, or audio record.

SEC. 4. RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.

    (a) Broad Construction.--This Act shall be construed in favor of a
broad protection of the right to record, observe, or peacefully protest
law enforcement activities and the right to access and document
information about matters of public interest, to the maximum extent
permitted by the terms of this Act and the Constitution of the United
States.
    (b) No Diminishment of Other First Amendment Rights and Remedies.--
Nothing in this Act shall be construed to--
            (1) diminish constitutional and statutory protections for
        any activity outside the scope of this Act that is otherwise
        covered by the First Amendment to the Constitution of the
        United States;
            (2) preclude any cause of action that may arise under the
        laws of the United States, a State, or a unit of local
        government for any violation of such First Amendment rights; or
            (3) limit or preclude any legal, equitable, or other remedy
        that is available in any action for any violation of such First
        Amendment rights.
    (c) No Preclusion of Other Causes of Action.--Nothing in this Act
shall be construed to preclude any other cause of action that may arise
under the laws of the United States, a State, or a unit of local
government for any violation by an officer acting under color of law of
the right to record, observe, or peacefully protest law enforcement
activities.
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