CRACKING DOWN ON PROTEST.

PositionSMOKING GUN

Since January 2019, state legislators have introduced 231 bills to restrict the right of free and peaceful assembly, according to the "U.S. Protest Law Tracker" maintained by the International Center for Not-for-Profit Law. As of early September, thirty-six of these bills had been enacted; another fifty-two are pending. Here are some of the measures that became law in just the past year:

ALABAMA

SB 152: Allows municipalities to require permits, restrict where protests may occur, and charge organizers an upfront "security deposit for the actual cost" for cleanup, use of law enforcement officers, and "any other actual administrative cost." Signed into law by Governor Kay Ivey, Republican.

ARKANSAS

HB 1508: Provides for up to a year in jail for protesters who obstruct a "public passage" like a highway or sidewalk. Also creates a mandatory minimum sentence of thirty days in jail for "rioting," defined as three or more persons engaging in "tumultuous or violent conduct" that risks "causing public alarm" or disrupting government. Signed into law by Governor Asa Hutchinson, Republican.

FLORIDA

HB 1/SB 484: Expands the definition of "riot" to mean three or more persons who willfully take part in "violent and disorderly conduct." Prescribes penalties for actions that create an "imminent danger" of injury to people or damage to property, whether or not this occurs. Causing damage of $200 or more to any memorial or historic property is now a third degree felony offense in the state, punishable by up to five years in prison. Signed into law by Governor Ron DeSantis, Republican.

IOWA

SF 342: Defines a riot as "three or more persons assembled together in a violent and disturbing manner" and stiffens penalties for "unlawful assembly." Reclassifies obstructing a street or sidewalk while "present during a riot" as a Class D felony, punishable by up to five years in prison and a $7,500 fine. Makes drivers who injure protesters with their cars, in most cases, immune from liability. Signed into law by Governor Kim Reynolds...

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