The Manhattan Institute Helped Kill DEI. Now It’s Coming for Protests
The Manhattan Institute is backing bills that would turn some protest disruptions into felonies and label them civil terrorism.
Intelligence analysis by GPT-5.4 Mini
WIRED reports that the Manhattan Institute, after pushing anti-DEI politics, is now helping drive state bills that would punish protest-related conduct more harshly. The effort centers on a new “civil terrorism” theory aimed at nonviolent disruption.
The article says one think tank wants to treat some protest disruptions like serious crimes, almost as if loud blocking at a parade were a dangerous attack. It is like turning a parking ticket into a robbery charge because a lot of people were angry at once.
Analysis
What the article says
WIRED says the Manhattan Institute is behind a yearlong push to reclassify minor protest-related offenses as felonies under the label “civil terrorism.” The article ties this campaign to Tal Fortgang, a Manhattan Institute legal policy fellow who argues that coordinated nonviolent disruption can be treated as terrorism even without weapons or mass-casualty intent.
Where it has landed
The piece points to Utah as the clearest example. Utah passed HB 331 and Governor Spencer Cox signed it on March 24. According to the article, the law increases penalties for “aggravated disorderly conduct” during protests, adds a crime for unlawfully advancing foreign organizations, and bars civilians from wearing masks at protests.
Arizona is described as the next major battleground. The Manhattan Institute-backed bill had already passed the lower chamber on a 31-21 vote and was waiting on the state Senate. WIRED says Democrats there plan to slow or block it, while Governor Katie Hobbs had already vetoed a related bill last year that would have made blocking a roadway a felony.
The larger frame
The article places these bills inside a broader Trump-era and post-Trump effort to depict left-wing activism as extremism. It notes that the same policy logic has been used against anti-war activists, pro-Palestinian protesters, and Black Lives Matter organizers. Civil liberties advocates quoted in the story warn that the laws are designed to chill speech and assembly, and that powers built for opponents could later be used against the people passing them.
Key points
- The Manhattan Institute is backing state bills that would treat some protest disruptions as “civil terrorism.”
- Utah already passed one of these laws, and the governor signed it on March 24.
- Arizona is considering a similar bill after the lower chamber approved it 31-21.
- Critics say the laws are meant to chill the First Amendment rights to assemble and protest.
- The article connects the effort to a broader push to cast left-wing activism as extremism.
If these laws fail in enough states, protest-related crimes may stay closer to existing misdemeanor levels instead of being pushed into felony territory. That would preserve more room for public demonstrations without expanding the terrorism label to cover nonviolent dissent.
If the model spreads, states could use harsher penalties to deter or punish protests that block roads, use masks, or involve coordinated disruption. The article suggests that this could chill speech and assembly, especially for groups already targeted in political fights.
