Protest restrictions gain traction in states
Group warns that legislatures chip away at right to speak out
Republican legislators in 20 U.S. statehouses proposed — and six legislatures approved — restrictions on the right to assemble and protest this year, according to a new report by the Democrat-aligned State Innovation Exchange.
“These bills would create a new set of crimes, significantly harsher penalties and costly fines that could apply broadly to anyone — whether they are supporters of the president, members of the Tea Party or just concerned parents speaking out at a school board meeting,” according to an advance copy of the report. SiX works to advance liberal policies at the state level and calls the wave of bills a “new and disturbing trend.”
“Given this passage rate, there is every reason to think we will see more of these efforts in 2018,” the report said.
Among the states approving what SiX calls “anti-protester” legislation were Arkansas, Oklahoma, North Dakota, Georgia and South Dakota. Arkansas passed an “anti-loitering ” bill that makes it an offense if a person “lingers, remains or prowls in a public place or the premises of another without apparent reason and under circumstances that warrant alarm or concern for the safety of persons or property in the vicinity.”
In Oklahoma, where there have been protests against major oil and gas pipelines, “trespassing on property containing a critical infrastructure facility without permission” can be a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months’ imprisonment. If the damage is “willful,” punishment increases to up to 10 years in jail.
Other efforts have stalled, particularly in states with Democrat- ic governors. After protests in the wake of the police killing of Philando Castile in 2016, Minnesota conservatives proposed several pieces of legislation. Castile, 32, was shot and killed during a traffic stop when his girlfriend and 4year-old daughter were in the car.
One bill would have allowed police departments to charge protesters convicted of a crime for the costs associated with demonstrations. The bills either failed to advance or were vetoed by Gov. Mark Dayton, a Democrat.
The wave of state legislation comes amid rising tensions over civil liberties across the USA caused by police shootings of black men, white supremacist rallies planned in several cities and demonstrations against President Trump’s policies, as well as clashes between police and “anti-fascist” or “antifa” protesters.
Rep. Nick Zerwas, a Republican sponsor of a Minnesota proposal that did not pass, said he simply wants to stiffen penalties for behavior that is already subject to fines, including blocking access to freeways and airports.
“It was very narrow in scope and aimed to increase criminal penalties for a few specific violations,” Zerwas said. “What we’ve seen is a pattern of behavior in which individuals are closing down airports or blocking freeways in violation of existing law.”
Other measures would have increased penalties for protesting on an interstate highway from a gross misdemeanor to a felony, said Minnesota state Rep. Rena Moran, a Democrat.
“The GOP continued to bury anti-protester provisions in successive versions of larger omnibus public safety bills,” she said. “There’s no indication that Republicans won’t continue to try to pass these bills next year.”
Some failed proposals would have reduced penalties for motorists who strike protesters with their vehicles, according to the report. This month in Charlottesville, Va., Heather Heyer was killed when a man at a white nationalist rally plowed his car into a crowd of counterprotesters.