NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Gov. Bill Lee recently signed legislation by Assistant House Majority Leader Mark Cochran, R-Englewood, to deter and punish foreign adversaries from using intimidation tactics in the Volunteer State.
The Crush Transnational Repression in Tennessee Act will require that criminal offenses be punished one classification higher if an individual acts on behalf of a foreign adversary, a foreign terrorist organization, or a proxy that harasses, intimidates, or coerces people in Tennessee to influence their behavior or suppress protected legal rights.
“We are blessed to live in the greatest nation the world has ever known, and our state will never allow foreign nations to trample on the values that make us unique,” said Cochran. “This new law safeguards constitutional rights and ensures no outside entity can silence, intimidate or manipulate people in Tennessee. I’m grateful to my colleagues for helping keep the Volunteer State a beacon of individual liberty.”
The new law also establishes a Class D felony offense for intentionally attempting to enforce the laws of a foreign adversary in violation of state or federal law. If an offender acts as a foreign adversarial agent, the violation would be considered a Class C felony. Foreign adversaries include China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea and Russia, as defined by the federal government.
Any decision or ruling by a state court, arbitration panel, tribunal or administrative agency based on foreign law would be considered void and unenforceable if it denies someone liberty, rights or privileges guaranteed by the Tennessee or U.S. constitutions, according to the measure. The new law protects Tennesseans from the enforcement of Sharia Law, an Islamic legal system that restricts individual freedoms and human rights.
The law will provide critical protections to people in Tennessee, including college students, amid growing concerns about foreign intimidation and harassment. In 2024, a Harvard undergraduate student was dragged out of a campus event by a pro-Chinese Communist Party agitator for protesting human rights abuses, according to the U.S. House of Representatives Select Committee on China. The committee referred to the incident as a case of possible transnational repression.
The new law takes effect July 1.
State Rep. Mark Cochran represents District 23 in the Tennessee House of Representatives, which includes McMinn and part of Monroe counties.