Penalties proposed for some protesters

Protesters who block a highway could be imprisoned for a year and subject to lawsuits by motorists under a bill advanced by the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday.

The legislation, House Bill 1578, would make several changes to rioting and disorderly conduct statutes, including increased penalties for highway protesters and those who block emergency or police vehicles. The bill goes to the House.

It also would allow bystanders affected by such protests — such as truckers stuck in traffic or someone who suffered because an ambulance could not reach him — to sue the protesters or any group that brought the protesters to the march.

The sponsor of the bill, Rep. Kim Hammer, R- Benton, pointed to protests last year in Memphis in which marchers temporarily shut down the Interstate 40 bridge over the Mississippi River.

— John Moritz