U.S. government is one step closer to making protests illegal.

The new “trespass bill” makes it a federal offense to protest government business or functions, or against people or places under Secret Service protection.

The U.S. congress is pushing a bill into law under the innocent pretense of making protests at the White House illegal.
The new legislation just passed by the house H.R. 347, informally known as the “Trespass Bill”, goes far beyond the White House and will outlaw peaceful protests in an almost endless possible combinations of situations.
The bill begins by making it illegal to enter or remain in any restricted building or grounds, which are defined as any location where the Secret Service or any person under protection of the secret service is located or at any place designated as a special event of national significance.
Hence, the it will be illegal to protest at not only the White House but at any location where the The President, Former President’s, their families, Presidential and Vice Presidential Candidates, Foreign Heads of States, U.S. Officials performing certain tasks, or any one else under protection of the secret service is located.
That would means it would be illegal for protestors to hold a rally outside an Obama speech or even at an event hosted by Rick Sanatorium or Mitt Romney. It doesn’t stop there either.
The bill goes on to make it a federal offense “to impede or disrupt the orderly conduct of Government business or official functions, engages in disorderly or disruptive conduct in, or within such proximity to, any restricted building or grounds when, or so that, such conduct, in fact, impedes or disrupts the orderly conduct of Government business or official functions”

H.R. 347 did make one noteworthy change, which may make it easier for the Secret Service to overuse or misuse the statute to arrest lawful protesters.

Without getting too much into the weeds, most crimes require the government to prove a certain state of mind. Under the original language of the law, you had to act "willfully and knowingly" when committing the crime. In short, you had to know your conduct was illegal. Under H.R. 347, you will simply need to act "knowingly," which here would mean that you know you're in a restricted area, but not necessarily that you're committing a crime.

Any time the government lowers the intent requirement, it makes it easier for a prosecutor to prove her case, and it gives law enforcement more discretion when enforcing the law.

Also, while H.R. 347, on its own, is only of incremental importance, it could be misused as part of a larger move by the Secret Service and others to suppress lawful protest by relegating it to particular locations at a public event. These "free speech zones" are frequently used to target certain viewpoints or to keep protesters away from the cameras. Although H.R. 347 doesn't directly address free speech zones, it is part of the set of laws that make this conduct possible, and should be seen in this context.
http://blog.alexanderhiggins.com/2012/02/29/house-passes-trespass-bill-protests-illegal-87532/

http://www.aclu.org/blog/free-speech/how-big-deal-hr-347-criminalizing-protest-bill