Assaulting on-the-job journalists would become a felony in New York state under a proposal put forth by Gov. Andrew Cuomo during his State of the State address on Tuesday.

Cuomo called on Albany lawmakers to pass the protection for journalists, citing rising vitriol against the media from the White House, as well as a wave of pipe bombs mailed to CNN’s Manhattan headquarters and prominent Democratic figures in October.

“The freedom of the press is a constitutionally-guaranteed right and a pillar of our democracy,” the proposal read. “However, the Trump administration has launched an attack on the press, labeling journalism it does not like as ‘fake news’ to advance the administration’s own agenda and inspire hatred of the media among the public.”

According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, 34 journalists were killed for their work worldwide in 2018, nearly double the previous year.

That includes several journalists shot dead in the newsroom of Maryland’s Capital Gazette in June.

“The men and women working in journalism should feel safe performing the duties of their jobs,” it continued. “In order to provide additional protections for journalists in light of recent events, the Governor is advancing legislation that would make an assault against a journalist while performing his or her journalistic duties a felony offense.”