NKY Rep. Thomas Massie opposes anti-lynching bill, says it could endanger free speech

Northern Kentucky's Rep. Thomas Massie was one of three U.S. House members to vote against a bill Monday that would make lynching a federal hate crime.

Massie, a Lewis County Republican, said on Twitter that he voted against the bill because it expands current federal hate crime laws and because the Constitution specifies only a handful of federal crimes, leaving the rest to the states.

"A crime is a crime, and all victims deserve equal justice," he wrote on Twitter. "Adding enhanced penalties for 'hate' tends to endanger other liberties such as freedom of speech."

Massie also said lynching is already illegal in the states and that passing the federal legislation would imply that isn't the case.

The bill says anyone who conspires to commit a lynching would face the same punishment as those who carried out that crime. Massie tweeted that he's concerned the inclusion of conspiracy "could be enforced overbroadly on people who are not perpetrators of a crime."

More: Rep. Thomas Massie says state legislatures, not voters, should pick U.S. senators

The Emmett Till Antilynching Act passed the House on a 422-3 vote. Republicans Andrew Clyde, of Georgia, and Chip Roy, of Texas, were the other two votes against it. The bill will now move to the Senate.

In the Senate, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky, said he'll sponsor the legislation. Paul held up the bill in the Senate in 2020, saying he thought there should be a higher threshold for what crimes the legislation addresses and proposing an amendment to the bill.

“I’m pleased to have worked with Senators Cory Booker and Tim Scott to strengthen the final product and ensure the language of this bill defines lynching as the absolutely heinous crime that it is, and I’m glad to cosponsor this bipartisan effort," Paul wrote in a statement about the current bill.

Who is Thomas Massie?: Northern Kentucky's Rep. Thomas Massie: 'Unlike any other Congress critter.'

Northern Kentucky reporter Rachel Berry can be reached at rberry@enquirer.com. Follow her on Twitter @racheldberry.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: NKY Rep. Thomas Massie votes against anti-lynching bill