Republican Introduces Absurd Bill to Send Arrested Student Protesters to Gaza

A group of Republican lawmakers introduced a bill on Wednesday which would send “any person convicted of unlawful activity” at a college or university, to do community service in Gaza for six months.

The bill, dubbed the “Antisemitism Community Service Act,” was introduced by Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN), and backed by Representatives Jeff Dunch (R-SC) and Randy Weber (R-TX), as part of two bills which take aim at college students.

The bill seeks to punish students opposing the U.S.-backed genocide, by sending them to the very place where Israel has used U.S. funds and weapons to kill over 34,700 people, obliterating homes, and displacing nearly two million of Palestinians.

Strangely, the bill appears to refer to any “unlawful activity on the campus of an institution of higher education beginning on and after October 7, 2023” but does not specifically mention the ongoing student protests, rendering it stupidly broad.

Ogles spoke with Fox News about the bill, saying that, “If you support a terrorist organization, and you participate in unlawful activity on campuses, you should get a taste of your own medicine. I am going to bet that these pro-Hamas supporters wouldn’t last a day, but let’s give them the opportunity.”

The second bill, called the Study Abroad Act, would seek to cancel the visas of students studying abroad in the U.S., if they are “arrested for rioting or unlawful protest,” or were arrested while “establishing, participating in, or promoting an encampment.” The bill, which was exclusively released to the Daily Caller, does not require the students to be charged with an actual crime, only arrested.

Ogles posted about the new legislation on X, saying “My message is clear: if you’re a student visa holder rioting AGAINST American values and FOR Hamas terrorists, you can go study abroad in Gaza.”

This comment is especially inane, considering that Israel has reduced all of Gaza’s universities to rubble.

In February, Ogles faced significant criticism over his response to a comment about murdered Palestinian children, to which he replied, “I think we should kill them all, if that makes you feel better. Everybody in Hamas.” A spokesperson for the Republican later had to clarify that he did not mean to advocate for the murder of those children.