Arizona Republicans planning to make protest illegal

by Michael Smith (Veshengro)

In Arizona you could get jailed and have your assets seized if you attend a protest or demonstration after Arizona Senate votes to seize assets of those who plan, participate in protests that turn violent. Even just preparing to attend such an event could already be illegal.

A bill attempting to criminalize protest has passed the Arizona Senate – supported entirely by Republicans – and is headed to the state House. The bill claims to be aimed at “rioting,” but rioting is already illegal. This bill says that anyone who plans or attends a protest at which something the government chooses to define as rioting happens can be prosecuted:

SB1142 expands the state’s racketeering laws, now aimed at organized crime, to also include rioting. And it redefines what constitutes rioting to include actions that result in damage to the property of others.

But the real heart of the legislation is what Democrats say is the guilt by association — and giving the government the right to criminally prosecute and seize the assets of everyone who planned a protest and everyone who participated. And what’s worse, said Sen. Steve Farley, D-Tucson, is that the person who may have broken a window, triggering the claim there was a riot, might actually not be a member of the group but someone from the other side. [...]

There’s something else: By including rioting in racketeering laws, it actually permits police to arrest those who are planning events.

Claiming people are being paid to riot, Republican state senators voted to give police new power to arrest anyone who is involved in a peaceful demonstration that may turn bad – even before anything actually happened.

One single broken window would be all that would be needed to make them all into rioters regardless whether they participated in such actions or not. Thus all it needs is some Antifa goons and bingo you have a “riot” and everyone involved will be liable to arrest and to have all their assets seized.

The real heart of the legislation is what Democrats say is the guilt by association – and giving the government the right to criminally prosecute and seize the assets of everyone who planned a protest and everyone who participated. What is worse even, so Sen. Steve Farley, D-Tucson, is that the person who may have broken a window, triggering the claim there was a riot, might actually not be a member of the group but someone from the other side.

Heavy handed approach by the police, obviously, also could create a backlash from protesters and who is to say that people refusing to move one when ordered by police and resisting would not also be seen and interpreted by law enforcement as riotous behavior?

© 2017