By Bob Christie
Associated Press
PHOENIX — Participating in or being near a riot could lead to prosecution on felony racketeering charges and property seizures under a proposal advanced by an Arizona Senate committee Thursday.
Sen. Sonny Borrelli, R-Lake Havasu City, said his measure is needed to add deterrence to existing laws against rioting. His proposal adds rioting to the organized crime statutes, saying an overt act isn’t needed to prove conspiracy to riot and adds property damage to the rioting law.
Opponents said it is so broadly written that it could ensnare innocent people and chill free speech rights.
The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 4-3 for the measure with all three Democrats on the panel opposed.
The main hammer in Senate Bill 1142 would allow prosecutors to seize a person’s assets under civil forfeiture laws in addition to filing enhanced felony criminal charges. Borrelli said it’s important to deter violent riots and go after groups that pay protesters. He cited no evidence that protesters have been paid.
The law comes after violent protests in Washington, D.C., following President Donald Trump’s inauguration and Wednesday night in Berkeley, California, over a right-wing speaker. But Borrelli said the idea has been around much longer and wasn’t a “knee-jerk response.”
“We should go after the people that are actually ... violating the First Amendment, trampling on the First Amendment,” Borrelli said. “That’s the intent of this. We want to put some teeth in going after the bad actors that are out there undermining the First Amendment.”
A retired Phoenix police officer who was formerly the police union’s president and the executive director of a state police association supported the bill.
Mark Spencer, the retired officer, said the proposal does not go after First Amendment rights to assemble or protest, instead targeting criminal behavior with tougher sanctions.
“When a good thing is used recklessly and harmfully, the penalty needs to be aggravated, whether it’s with a weapon or weather it’s with free speech protesting that turns into a riot,” Spencer said.
But Kevin Heade, a Phoenix defense attorney and member of Arizona Attorneys for Criminal Justice, testified that the measure goes too far. He said the proposed law as written could allow prosecutors could go after innocent organizers of a protest if a riot broke out.
“What they mean about the deterrent effect of the statute is a chilling of First Amendment speech and association,” Heade told the panel. “This is an extremely broad statute and we’ve not heard any justification why it is necessary, other than deterrence.”
Heade and Democrats on the panel said current criminal law is sufficient, citing the ability to pursue felony property damage or assault charges when warranted.
Even Sen. Bob Worsley, R-Mesa, seemed conflicted, although he ultimately voted for the proposal. He said he was growing weary of bills with tougher sentences.
“We have 45,000 inmates in our prisons, Washington state is the exact same population with 22,000 inmates,” Worsley said. “I understand and believe in being tough on crime but I am concerned we are over-criminalizing a lot of things and making it easier to put people in jail for longer.”