[Update: Article reflects information from the released bill.]
Released this week is a new bill introduced by Rep. Jason Overstreet (R) and co-sponsored by 20 others that would make the indefinite detention of Washington state residents a class C felony.
The bill comes in response to the recent signing of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013 that retains the controversial provision found in its predecessor that authorizes the indefinite detention of U.S. citizens without charge or trial.
Nadia Kayyali, a legal fellow at the Bill of Rights Defense Committee, warns that the 2013 NDAA "could allow for military detention on U.S. soil by the U.S. military, in violation of the constitutional right to due process and a fair trial, and in violation of the Posse Comitatus Act."
Kayyali adds that this year's version not only reauthorized indefinite detention, it did so without comment from the president or a "weak" amendment seeking to preserve due process that was initially passed through the Senate.
The anti-indefinite detention bill, the "Washington State Preservation of Liberty Act" hopes to succeed where the last year's version failed - dying in committee.
Like its predecessor, this year's bill "condemn[s] the unlawful detention of United States citizens and lawful resident aliens under the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012."
The notable change for this year's bill is to declare those acts as felonies as opposed to simply condemning them.
Specifically, the legislation would make it a class C felony for any armed forces or employees of the federal and state governments to assist in the investigation or detainment of a non-active duty U.S. citizen by the armed forces.
The sister bill was also introduced this week in the State Senate by Sen. Bob Hasegawa (D), making it a bipartisan effort.
"This is a very trans-partisan issue, and most Americans agree we need to fight back against the NDAA indefinite detention provisions," says Scott Shock, an organizer for the Seattle Campaign for Liberty.
In order to make this year's bill a success, Shock is calling upon supporters to take action.
State legislation nullifying provisions of the NDAA has successfully passed in one state: Virginia.
An anti-NDAA bill in Wyoming recently passed committee and is making its way to the State House.
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