The Department of Homeland Security announced on Wednesday that President Donald Trump’s administration is expanding a “charging authority” regulation that will allow federal agents to take greater action against individuals who riot at Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities and commit crimes against federal property.
In a Wednesday press release, the Department of Homeland Security announced the “accelerated implementation of the Regulations Governing Conduct on Federal Property.” Titled “Protection of Federal Property,” the new regulation implemented by the Trump administration is intended to “address a recent surge in violence at federal facilities.”
The Department of Homeland Security told The Daily Caller that the expanded regulation will allow federal officials guarding Department of Homeland Security buildings to arrest individuals using “unmanned aircraft” to damage federal property, obstructing access to federal buildings, wearing masks while committing crimes, tampering with government technology systems, threatening to commit a violent crime, impeding federal employees from performing official duties, and engaging in disorderly conduct.
In Wednesday’s press release, the Department of Homeland Security confirmed that the “advanced charging authority” is based on DHS 40 U.S.C. §1315 enforcement authority, which authorizes the Department of Homeland Security to protect “the buildings, grounds and property” of the federal government.
The department told The Daily Caller that the new regulation will allow Department of Homeland Security officials to bring charges against individuals regardless of the place where criminal activity took place if it “affects federal property and the persons thereon.”
The Department of Homeland Security noted that while the “Protection of Federal Property” regulation was initially scheduled to take effect on January 1, the Trump administration was implementing the regulation on Wednesday to “address a recent surge in security and public safety threats.”
“DHS is using every tool possible to protect the lives of our law enforcement as they face a surge in violence and lawlessness at many of our federal facilities,” Assistant Homeland Security Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said. “We’ve seen rampant violence against law enforcement including our officers shot at, rammed by vehicles, assaulted and threatened.”
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