In late July 2025, social media users claimed U.S. Rep. Randy Fine, R-Fla., promoted legislation called the "Thump Thump Act" that would allow drivers to run over protesters.
Fine, a former Florida state senator, won a special election in April 2025 to fill Mike Waltz's congressional seat, which became vacant after U.S. President Donald Trump tapped Waltz to serve as his national security adviser. Fine is known as a staunch supporter of Israel and a backer of some high-profile policies in Florida, including a measure that critics have dubbed the "Don't Say Gay" law.
In a post (archived) shared on July 29, one Facebook user wrote, "Florida Congressman Randy Fine sparks outrage with a shocking tweet promoting the so-called 'Thump Thump Act,' claiming it would allow drivers to run over protestors, specifically calling out BLM, Antifa, and undocumented immigrants."
The post included a screenshot of a purported X post from Fine's account that read: "To be clear, the Thump Thump Act will also allow you to run over BLM, Antifa, illegal immigrants, and anyone else who intentionally blocks roads."
Other Facebook (archived) users (archived) shared the alleged post from Fine, as well as another purported post that read: "The Thump Thump Act will allow Americans to run over these Muslim terrorists. They don't try this in Florida because of the bill I helped pass in the Legislature to allow them to be run over. It's time to take it national. Thump thump."
Snopes readers emailed us and searched our website to ask if the Thump Thump Act was real and whether Fine had actually proposed it. Here's a breakdown of what we know:
What has Fine said about the Thump Thump Act?
Snopes traced one of Fine's earliest mentions of the Thump Thump Act to an X post (archived) shared on June 17, 2025. Fine reshared a video of a car running over a protester in downtown Los Angeles and wrote:
Blocking a road is a form of terror. It stops medical emergencies. It keeps people from living their lives.
In Florida, I helped pass a bill to allow you to run them over.Now I'm taking it national.
The Thump Thump Act is coming.
Drive away.
Blocking a road is a form of terror. It stops medical emergencies. It keeps people from living their lives.
In Florida, I helped pass a bill to allow you to run them over.
Now I'm taking it national.
The Thump Thump Act is coming.
Drive away.
https://t.co/SDiMNhqk45— Congressman Randy Fine (@RepFine) June 17, 2025
Fine posted (archived) again about the so-called Thump Thump Act on July 27, 2025, when he reshared a video that claimed to show Muslims in Brooklyn blocking a highway. He wrote:
The Thump Thump Act will allow Americans to run over these Muslim Terrorists.
They don't try this in Florida because of the bill I helped pass in the Legislature to allow them to be run over. It's time to take it national.
Thump thump.
In a follow-up post (archived) shared on the same day, Fine added:
To be clear, the Thump Thump Act will also allow you to run over BLM, Antifa, illegal immigrants, and anyone else who intentionally blocks roads!
Thump thump!
Fine's July 27 post about "Muslim terrorists" isn't the first time he's used the inflammatory language. Earlier in the month, he faced backlash for his response to an X post (archived) shared by U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., in which she denounced Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to Washington, D.C. In reply, Fine wrote (archived):
I'm sure it is difficult to see us welcome the killer of so many of your fellow Muslim terrorists.
The only shame is that you serve in Congress.
After several Democratic congressional leaders demanded an apology (archived) from Fine, calling his comments directed at Omar "unhinged, racist and Islamophobic," Fine wrote (archived):
The Hamas Caucus is upset.
Boo hoo.
I guess they weren't listening when I said the Hebrew Hammer was coming.
Has Fine proposed the Thump Thump Act in Congress?
There's no evidence that Fine has actually introduced a bill known as the Thump Thump Act in Congress, despite his repeated posts about the proposal.
Searches for "Thump Thump Act" and "run over protesters" on Congress.gov did not return any relevant results at the time of publication.
Additionally, no credible news media outlets had reported on such a bill at the time of this publication, a Google search showed. Due to its controversial nature, reputable news outlets would likely report on the proposed bill if Fine had indeed introduced it in Congress.
Snopes reached out to Fine's office to ask if he had introduced such a bill in Congress or if he plans to do so, and will update this story if we receive a response.
Does a Florida law allow drivers to run over protesters?
In his posts about the Thump Thump Act, Fine claimed he helped pass a bill in the Florida Legislature that allows drivers to run over protesters. It's unclear exactly what bill he was referring to, and his office did not respond to Snopes' request for clarification by the time of publication.
We determined Fine was likely referencing Florida's H.B. 1, which is sometimes referred to as the "anti-riot" law. But that law doesn't allow drivers to run over protesters without consequence in Florida, PolitiFact reported in June 2025.
The law contains a provision that says, "In a civil action for damages for personal injury, wrongful death, or property damage, it is an affirmative defense that such action arose from an injury or damage sustained by a participant acting in furtherance of a riot."
In other words, the provision gives people being sued in a civil court a way to avoid liability if a person who suffered injuries or property damage was participating in a riot.
However, the provision does not grant people "immunity from criminal prosecution," Dave Aronberg, a Florida lawyer and former state attorney for Palm Beach County, told Snopes in an email. Aronberg previously spoke to PolitiFact.
Aronberg said, in part:
A driver who injures or kills someone who was blocking the streets can still be arrested and prosecuted for aggravated battery, manslaughter or murder, among other crimes. The driver can argue that the individual was participating in a riot, but that's an affirmative defense in a civil trial, not a defense in a criminal trial unless the driver can show that he or she was in reasonable fear of his or her life and acted in self-defense.
Drivers could also invoke Florida's "stand Your ground" law in their defense, which allows a defendant to have their charges dismissed before a trial even takes place, Aronberg added.
In sum ...
Fine has posted multiple times about the so-called Thump Thump Act, which he claimed would allow drivers to run over protesters. However, there's no evidence Fine has actually introduced such a bill in Congress, and his office did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication.
Fine also claimed he helped pass a law in Florida that allowed drivers to run over protesters. But Florida's "anti-riot" law, which Fine was likely referring to, doesn't let drivers run over protesters without consequence in the state.