Michigan Representative Matt Maddock.
A Trump-loving Michigan Republican is declaring war on the people who tell him when he's wrong.
The Detroit News reports that Michigan Rep. Matt Maddock has filed a new bill called the "Fact Checker Registration Act" that would force fact checkers to register with the state and would subject them to $1,000 daily fines if they are found to have made mistakes.
"The bill requires qualifying fact checkers to file proof of a $1 million fidelity bond with the Secretary of State's office, which will be tasked with developing the 'form and manner of registration and filing,'" reports the Detroit News. "An 'affected person' could bring a civil action in any county district court to claim the bond for 'any wrongful conduct that is a violation of the laws of this state.'"
If a judge finds that the "affected person" suffered "demonstrable harm" from something written by a fact checker, that fact checker could be hit with fines of $1,000 per day until they correct the record.
Democratic Michigan State Sen. Jeremy Moss, however, predicted that Maddock's anti-fact checking bill would get shot down by courts even if it managed to pass.
"This is an affront to the First Amendment," he told the Detroit News.
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