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Rioting could lead to more prison time under NC bills. Why some see a danger in that.

North Carolina House Speaker Tim Moore said people have the right to say rude and mean things during protests.

“They can have a sign. They can yell,” he told a House judiciary committee Thursday morning.

But when they cross the line and start damaging property and assaulting law enforcement, he said, officers and prosecutors need more tools so those individuals will face substantial sentences.

“We are a nation of laws, not a nation of mob rule,” he said.

Moore’s solution to that problem is a bill that seeks to deter civil unrest in the state by imposing harsher penalties and allowing property owners to sue those responsible and recover three times the value of damage done to their property.

“This bill, I submit, strikes a balance between protecting that valuable right that so many have given their lives to protect of the First Amendment,” Moore said, “and at the same time allowing for the protection of the public, of life, property.”

Others, including representatives of local civil rights organizations and some Democratic legislators, said they are concerned Moore’s bill would have a chilling effect on people exercising their constitutional rights and result in increased charges for people of color and bystanders if a window is broken or other damage is done that costs more than $1,500.

“It sends the wrong message and it will have severe consequences, especially for people of color,” said Daniel Bowes, director of policy and advocacy with the ACLU of North Carolina.

After a nearly 35 minute discussion, legislators voted in favor of the bill, moving it to another committee.

House Bill 805

Under Moore’s bill, engaging in a riot would remain a misdemeanor and the punishment would remain unchanged, but those charged with engaging in a riot with serious injury or more than $1,500 in damage could face more probation or prison time.

Moore’s House Bill 805 increases the punishment classification for that charge from a Class H felony to a Class F felony, and a Class E felony if there is a death. The maximum sentence for a Class H felony is 39 months compared to 59 months for a Class F felony or 88 months for a Class E felony.

Any person who is found guilty of assaulting law enforcement or other emergency officials during a riot would face a Class H felony compared to the existing Class I felony.

Individuals convicted of inciting a riot could face up to 150 days of probation or incarceration as the bill increases that penalty from a Class 1 misdemeanor, with up to a 120-day punishment, to Class A1.

Felonies in North Carolina are classified by an A through I system. Class A felonies are the most severe, with sentences of death and up to life in prison. A conviction on a Class I felony could result in probation or prison from three months up to 24 months. Previous convictions and factors specific to a crime determine a person’s sentencing range and terms.

State law defines a riot as a public disturbance involving three or more people “which by disorderly and violent conduct, or the imminent threat of disorderly and violent conduct, results in injury or damage to persons or property or creates a clear and present danger of injury or damage to persons or property.”

Recent events have shown that this issue is not unique to one side of the political spectrum, Moore said.

Whether it is individuals who damaged downtown Raleigh last summer, or those barging into the U.S. Capitol, it isn’t appropriate in civilized society, he said.

Law enforcement dodging bricks

Rep. Charles Miller, a Republican who is also a chief deputy at the Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office, said he supports the bill.

Miller was on the streets of Wilmington during the protests last year after Minneapolis police killed George Floyd. There were about 700 people who were peaceful until “agitators” came, he said. A smaller crowd of about 300 then blocked Third Street. Law enforcement protected peaceful protesters, making sure they got home safe, as they also dodged frozen water bottles, rocks and fireworks from others.

“I dodged two pieces of brick myself,” he said.

At one point, a firework mortar went off behind him, he said.

“I thought I was dead,” he said. “It shook my insides.”

Chilling effect

Rep. Brandon Lofton, a Mecklenburg County Democrat, said after Floyd was killed in the spring of 2020, he talked to his sons, 13 and 15, about the dangers they face from law enforcement.

“It was painful for me to see the look of helplessness and fear in their face,” he said.

Lofton took his children to some of the peaceful protests to see the diverse people protesting the killing and trying to make the community safer for them, he said. If someone lost their temper or people they didn’t know started damaging property, then he and his sons could have been caught up and treated as criminals.

Lofton also questioned why Moore chose to increase penalties for rioting, compared to more specific crimes such as looting and assaulting law enforcement.

“I think this has an effect of essentially chilling free speech,” he said.

Moore pointed out that the bill uses the language “willfully engages” and “willfully incites,” a higher standard that he said requires evidence that shows that the person was participating in the riot and not just standing near it.

Senate Bill 300

In March, Sen. Danny Britt, a Lumberton Republican, introduced a bill that also seeks to increase penalties for rioting convictions.

The 13-page Senate Bill 300, labeled Criminal Justice Reform, proposes a variety of changes, including establishing a database to track law enforcement discipline and killings.

The bill calls for increasing the punishment for the charge of engaging in a riot with damage of more than $1,500 to a Class G felony.

Rioting in which there is serious injury or the person has a weapon or dangerous substance, such as pepper stray or tear gas, would be upgraded to a Class F felony.

Britt said in March that the bill was in response to riots that broke out in North Carolina over the summer in protest of Floyd’s death. Many of the protests across the state were peaceful, but others battered downtown buildings and businesses in Charlotte, Durham and Raleigh, which sustained the most significant damage.

“We want folks to know that it is our opinion that these crimes are serious,” Britt told The News & Observer in March. “We hope that this will convey to them the need to actually prosecute crimes at a serious level.”

In Raleigh, more than 100 people were arrested between May 30 and June 7, and four faced felony riot charges, The News & Observer reported.

‘Dangerous’

Dawn Blagrove, executive director of the civil rights nonprofit Emancipate NC, said the proposed changes to rioting charges are “ridiculous” and seek a solution to a problem that doesn’t exist.

The changes put Black people and others at increased risk, as they are subject to the discretion of officers and prosecutors in a system that has a history of disparate treatment, she said.

“Clearly it is directed at Black folks and people who support police accountability and people who are demanding real substantive change from our legislators,” she said. “It is a way for them to punish those of us who are trying to create systemic and societal change that will advance the humanity and the dignity of Black and brown people.”

North Carolina has plenty of laws already on the books that are often used against people of color, while protesters who are white, including men who walked around downtown Raleigh with loaded weapons as part of an armed demonstration, aren’t even discouraged, Blagrove said.

“The double standard that exists in our criminal justice system simply makes legislation like this dangerous for Black and brown people and puts Black and brown people in much further peril for simply exercising their constitutional rights,” she said.

Under the Dome

With the start of the new year and a new legislative session, The News & Observer has launched a new Under the Dome podcast. We’re unpacking legislation and issues that matter to keep you updated on what’s happening in North Carolina politics twice a week on Monday and Friday mornings. Check us out here and sign up for our weekly Under the Dome newsletter for more political news.