Tennessee protesters could lose their right to vote if they illegally camp on state property, under a new bill signed into law this week

• Tennessee protesters will face harsher punishments for breaking the law and could even be stripped of their voting rights under a bill signed into law by Governor Bill Lee this week, according to The Hill.
• The legislation classifies illegal camping on state property as a Class E felony, and people found guilty of a felony in Tennessee lose their right to vote, The Hill said.
• It also increases punishments for aggravated rioting, blocking highway access for emergency vehicles, and committing aggravated assault against a first responder.
• "We are very disappointed in Governor Lee's decision to sign this bill, which chills free speech [and] undermines criminal justice reform," ACLU of Tennessee chief Hedy Weinberg said in a statement.

Protesters in Tennessee will face tougher penalties for breaking the law and could even be stripped of their right to vote under a bill that was signed into law this week, according to The Hill.

The bill, signed into law by Republican Governor Bill Lee, classifies illegally camping on state property as a Class E felony that is punishable by up to six years in prison. People found guilty of a felony in Tennessee lose their right to vote.

The legislation also introduces a mandatory 45-day sentence for aggravated rioting, increases the fine for blocking emergency vehicles from accessing a highway, and ramps up the punishment for aggravated assault against a first responder to a Class C felony, The Hill reported.

"We are very disappointed in Governor Lee's decision to sign this bill, which chills free speech, undermines criminal justice reform and fails to address the very issues of racial justice and police violence raised by the protesters who are being targeted," Hedy Weinberg, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee, said in a statement to The Hill.

"While the governor often speaks about sentencing reform, this bill contradicts those words and wastes valuable taxpayer funds to severely criminalize dissent," she added.

The Republican-controlled General Assembly passed the bill last week, and Tennessee Governor Bill Lee quietly signed it into law earlier this week.

It follows almost two months of demonstrations outside of the state Capitol, where protesters called for racial equality and criminal justice reform after Minneapolis police killed George Floyd in May.