Republican Rep. Kim Hammer of Benton filed legislation today to increase penalties for those who block roadways in the course of protests.

The bill sets out a range of penalties for such things as obstructing emergency workers or being armed in the course of a protest. The bill includes this change in current law:

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The definition of a “riot” would now be:

“Riot” means violent conduct by three (3) or more persons  acting in concert that creates a substantial risk of:

(A) Causing public alarm;
(B) Disrupting the performance of a governmental function;
(C) Damaging or injuring property or a person; or
(D) Impeding travel or public right-of-access to a road, highway, or thoroughfare designed for transit.

Committing a riot is a Class A misdemeanor. If a weapon is carried, it can be considered  aggravated riot and a felony. Inciting a riot means encouraging others to riot (i.e., block traffic.)

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The bill includes this definition of disorderly conduct, another misdemeanor:

Disorderly conduct.

A person commits the offense of disorderly conduct if, with the purpose to cause public inconvenience, annoyance, or alarm or recklessly creating a risk of public inconvenience, annoyance, or alarm, he or she:

(1) Engages in fighting or in violent, threatening, or  tumultuous behavior;

(2) Makes unreasonable or excessive noise;

(3) In a public place, uses abusive or obscene language, or makes an obscene gesture, in a manner likely to provoke a violent or disorderly response;

(4) Disrupts or disturbs any lawful assembly or meeting of  persons;

(5) Obstructs vehicular or pedestrian traffic;

(6) Congregates with two (2) or more other persons in a public place and refuses to comply with a lawful order to disperse of a law enforcement officer or other person engaged in enforcing or executing the law;

(7) Creates a hazardous or physically offensive condition;

(8) In a public place, mars, defiles, desecrates, or otherwise damages a patriotic or religious symbol that is an object of respect by the public or a substantial segment of the public; or

(9) In a public place, exposes his or her private parts.

The Supreme Court has ruled it is not constitutional to criminalize burning of the U.S. flags so Hammer’s bill seems to stray a little far in limiting free expression. I’d hope the NRA would have something to say, too, about presuming a higher level of criminal guilt on account of simple gun possession.

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The bill allows for civil lawsuits, punitive damages and recovery of attorney fees for any of the offenses enumerated, including disorderly conduct. Curse Kim and he can sue you, I guess, if he’s sufficiently offended.

This session needs to be shorter, not longer.

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Block traffic or burn a logo of a lawmaker’s church and shoot him the bird and you can be jailed and sued.

Other legislation winning legislative approval so far would let a nursing home patient get infected bed sores and die with a penalty of no more than $250,000 — and then only if the dead person’s family could get a lawyer willing to take the case for puny fees against a deep-pocketed nursing home owner with lawyers to litigate a plaintiff for years.

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Priorities.

Anti-protest laws have become popular around the country. Some states have considered bills to release from liability motorists who run down protesters. It’s enough to inspire an obscene gesture.

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