New state bill proposes felony protest penalties, 'stand your ground' law

Felony penalties for certain protest activities and the creation of "stand your ground" rights during protests are included in a bill recently proposed in the Ohio Statehouse. On Nov. 9, House Bill 784 was introduced to state legislators with Republicans Cindy Abrams and Sara Carruthers, both from the greater Cincinnati area, as primary sponsors. The bill also has garnered support from nine GOP cosponsors, including District 70 Rep. Darrell Kick, of Loudonville, whose voting district stretches through northwest Medina County. Bill provisions were laid out this week in a report from the Ohio Capital Journal. Those include a third-degree felony penalty and maximum fine of $10,000 for blocking traffic during a protest not sanctioned by local officials. Penalties also are increased for what the state deems to be a "riot" or "aggravated riot" if that event results in property damage. If that damage occurs, it would fall under a new classification called "riot vandalism." Participation in a "riot" would result in a fourth-degree felony eligible for a jail sentence of up to 18 months and a $5,000 fine. An "aggravated riot" conviction would carry a third-degree felony penalty. A "riot vandalism" charge would be handed down as a result of damage to government property or gravestones while being classified as a second-degree felony punishable by a prison sentence up to eight years and a $15,000 fine. Further, a new crime called "riot assault" would be a fifth-degree felony coming with a one-year prison sentence and $2,500 fine. If a person claiming harm is a police officer, that penalty increases to a third-degree felony. The bill also would create what are essentially "stand your ground" laws during protests, with HB 784 text stating "a person who reasonably believes that the person is in danger of imminent bodily harm may take any steps necessary to flee or escape from persons engaged in aggravated riot or riot… and is justified in using or threatening to use reasonable force, including deadly force, to escape the aggravated riot or riot." Carruthers provided a statement in support of HB 784 to the Ohio Capital Journal. Kick did not return later calls from The Gazette for comment. "When businesses are boarded up and shut down as a result of the actions of a few agitators, law-abiding Ohioans lose, small businesses lose, and jobs are lost," Carruthers wrote. "This is a commonsense bill that supports the right to peacefully assemble while holding accountable those who break the law." Abrams echoed those sentiments in a separate statement, saying that "freedom of speech and freedom of assembly are important cornerstones of our democracy. This legislation embraces the right of all Americans to peacefully assemble and make their voice heard in the public arena while supporting first responders, law enforcement, small businesses and law-abiding Ohioans." Critics of the legislation say it's designed to squash protests by intimidating organizers and could lead to armed individuals from other states coming to Ohio during a protest with the goal of committing violence. They also point to the bill lacking any new avenues for citizens to seek legal retribution in the event of police brutality and Ohio's broad definition of riot being "participating with four or more others in a course of disorderly conduct." Malicia Tuck, a 2013 Medina High School graduate, delivered an impassioned speech against racism and police brutality in June at Medina Square just after the death of Minnesota resident George Floyd while in police custody. On Wednesday, she laid out her concerns with HB 784. "This doesn't seem like a good idea at all," Tuck said. "Ohio is a pretty red state and people are already very angry about the election. They were also already angry about the protests, whether the protests were peaceful or not. Combining that with the election then adding a new excuse to be violent with a stand your ground law, I don't think that's right at all. It's pretty dangerous." Following the summer's protests, Columbus police officials investigated the use of tear gas on student journalists from the Ohio State University newspaper, The Lantern. U.S. Rep. Joyce Beatty was hit by pepper spray during a separate demonstration in May. The Columbus Dispatch reported in August that property damage stemming from protests in the state capital had totaled $1.2 million with that number expected to climb. Tuck, now 25 and working in Columbus as a lab technician, detailed her experiences while participating in demonstrations there. "I was at some events during the day but not at nighttime," she said. "From what I was told by people who were there, it seemed like there was big switch with the police everyday around 7 p.m. There would be no change in the crowd in terms of their size, what they were chanting, or them becoming violent. But right around 7, the police would suddenly switch from normal uniforms to complete riot gear." "Now, they're saying if you block a road it's a felony but then if you get a felony you can't vote," Tuck added. "It's a domino effect. People are mad about certain things and they're looking for any way possible to flip things back into their favor. There were some windows broken here, but it seemed like it was being done by people who came along later with that being their only goal. It wasn't the people who were there to protest." Tuck's mother, Michelle Powell, stood alongside her daughter and son, Malik, while the siblings delivered their June speeches in Medina. Powell is a longtime community advocate whose Let's Make a Difference program works to cover pay-for-play fees as well as other school-related costs for Medina students. "I'm proud of my children and I'm proud of the stand they're taking," she said Wednesday. "Looking at this new bill, it makes me think how there were never any sort of stand your ground laws for people in slavery or for people getting lynched. We believe in peaceful protest but I also think about telling my eight-year-old son to be careful where he goes and to not wear a hoodie. That isn't right and it's not how things should be. "Where are the laws to change that?" Contact reporter Jonathan Delozier at (330)721-4050 or jdelozier@medina-gazette.com.