Establishes the offense of malicious prosecution of a journalist

This bill creates a new class E felony for government officials who maliciously prosecute journalists without good reason. It applies when an official (like a prosecutor or elected leader) starts or continues a criminal case against a journalist without probable cause, acts with malice, knows the journalist didn’t commit a crime, and causes harm. Violators face up to one year in prison and must pay damages for reputational harm. The law broadly defines "journalist" to include digital creators like bloggers and podcasters, and removes government immunity to allow lawsuits.