‘Anti-Black Lives Matter Bill’ ignores call for racial equity in criminal justice, critics say
Black Lives Matter supporters came together this week demanding that Gov. Roy Cooper veto a bill that would stiffen penalties for people who riot — a bill that critics call “racist and insidious.”
“It is a direct response to Black and brown people taking to the streets and exercising their constitutional rights to protest,” said Dawn Blagrove, executive director for Emancipate North Carolina, at a news conference that the bill’s opponents held Wednesday in Raleigh.
Speaker Tim Moore said in May that he filed House Bill 805 after witnessing protests in Raleigh a year earlier that turned into riots, following the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
When Moore filed the bill, he said it was intended to stop civil unrest by increasing penalties for inciting a riot that leads to death, participating in a riot or participating in a riot that leads to a physical injury of a first responder. It also would allow people to sue for three times the cost of any injuries to their person or property caused by rioting.
Moore, in response to statements made at Wednesday’s news conference, said critics are mischaracterizing the motives of the bill’s supporters.
“If you care about Black and brown lives, you ought to care about minority business owners who had their businesses destroyed by rioters, because we saw that first-hand,” Moore told The News & Observer Thursday before listing off businesses and a church damaged during the riot.
But opponents of the bill say it will have the effect of muzzling people who want to express their First Amendment rights.
“Protesting should not be a crime,” said Ricky Leung, senior director of programs for North Carolina Asian Americans Together, at Wednesday’s news conference. “Standing up for racial justice should not be a crime. Showing up for our community should not be a crime.”
Protests erupt after Floyd’s death
In May 2020 and throughout the summer, people around the country protested to demand police accountability and racial equality following the death of 46-year-old Floyd. Floyd, a Black man, died during his arrest for suspicion of using a counterfeit $20 bill to buy cigarettes in Minneapolis.
Derek Chauvin, a 44-year-old white police officer, was convicted of killing Floyd after he knelt on his neck for more than nine minutes while Floyd was already in a position that is known to suppress a person’s ability to breathe.
In the aftermath of Floyd’s death, protests began peacefully in downtown Raleigh on May 30, 2020. But around 7 p.m., police fired tear gas and pepper spray into the crowd, and tensions rose, resulting in riots that led to looting, violence and damage to downtown buildings.
With many downtown businesses already struggling during the pandemic amid the exodus of workers and lockdowns, many of those that were damaged struggled to recover.
Moore, a Cleveland County Republican who was in his downtown Raleigh apartment at the time, watched the chaos unfold from his high-rise apartment. He said he was at a loss for words.
“It’s one thing to see this on TV,” Moore said at the time. “It’s another thing to see the fire, have the tear gas get in your face, hear the screams.”
In response, Moore filed HB 805 this year, along with Republican Reps. Allen McNeill of Moore County, Charles Miller of Brunswick County and John Sauls of Lee County. Lawmakers said in a news release that while peaceful protesting is important and a protected right, their bill would deter riots and looting.
HB 805 moved through the House quickly, passing 88-25 in just four days. Republicans all supported the bill, but Democrats had mixed feelings.
The bill stalled when it reached the other chamber. Senate leader Phil Berger told The News & Observer this week that the bill won’t be considered until the House takes up some of the Senate’s legislative priorities.
Free speech concerns
The Senate Judiciary Committee approved the bill on Aug. 9 but not before Senate Democrats urged Moore to consider the possible chilling effects that the legislation could cause.
Moore responded by saying property was destroyed “almost with impunity.”
“We need to give our law enforcement the tools that they need so that when someone goes out and destroys property and engages in violence, that they can be held accountable,” Moore said.
Many of the people arrested faced criminal charges for destruction of private property and have already been sentenced. That includes two men, Mikwan Domell Garfield and Jabari Davis, who were sentenced to 30 days in federal prison for lighting a police car on fire.
Moore acknowledged that the bill needs to recognize the difference between protests, civil disobedience and rioting and that he believed that past and future amendments were tackling that issue.
Sen. Mujtaba Mohammed voiced concerns that the bill’s wording is too vague.
Mohammed said it would be easy in a protest for someone to get pushed and for that to count as an assault. Mohammed pointed out that the way the bill is written allows for someone to be charged simply for brushing up against another person. And that results in felony charges at one level higher than the lowest issued in North Carolina.
At Wednesday’s news conference, those who have been involved in protests and demonstrations also vocalized concerns about that element of the legislation.
“I know how easy it is to brush up against emergency responders,” said Kerwin Pittman, a social justice activist. “I’ve been there with them shoulder to shoulder, and I may have brushed up against them and they may have brushed up against me.”
Moore wouldn’t budge as Mohammed explained his concerns, saying that the bill specifies that there must be criminal intent.
Mohammed further voiced concerns that the bill would keep accused rioters in jail up to 48 hours if a District Court judge or magistrate wasn’t available at the time of their arrest.
“We’re trampling on folks’ First Amendment rights again,” Mohammed said, adding that a 48-hour hold typically is reserved for domestic violence and murder suspects.
Moore said 48 hours is needed as a “cooling off period.”
“The rationale behind that is when someone is charged with that level of a crime, a cooling off period is probably appropriate, so that that person doesn’t just post bond, get out and go out and continue whatever offense they were doing,” Moore said.
Sen. Natasha Marcus, a Mecklenburg County Democrat, said she was concerned that allowing people to be sued for three times the cost of damages would hinder protesters from voicing their opinions. She said they might worry that someone else could cause property damage, and they could get caught up in the fallout if they were in proximity to the damage.
“I think it should absolutely be what I hope is a chilling effect,” Moore told Marcus. ”I hope it’s a chilling effect on somebody thinking they can go out and destroy somebody else’s property.”
Critics speak out
Nine days after the Judiciary Committee hearing, Pittman stood outside the North Carolina Capitol building with other opponents of the bill. He serves on Cooper’s Task Force on Racial Equity in Criminal Justice, which the governor created following Floyd’s death.
Pittman also works for Emancipate North Carolina and organizes social justice movements across the state, including in Raleigh.
“This bill, HB 805, will directly affect myself and individuals who take to the streets like me,” Pittman said. “And we call this bill particularly ‘The Anti-Black Lives Matter Bill.’”
Pittman pointed out that similar bills weren’t created after sports championship celebrations turned violent in years past.
Blagrove said that’s the main reason protesters came out Wednesday.
“This bill is racist and insidious and in direct response to Black and brown people taking to the streets, exercising their constitutional rights to protest,” Blagrove said. “What we know for sure is that when other groups of people protest in the same way, we do not see this level of knee jerk vitriol about the need to stop, punish and create a chilling effect on people exercising their constitutional rights.”
The Rev. Bradley Hunt, president of the Greensboro branch of the NAACP, said “the anti-riot bill” is a distraction and deflects from important issues surrounding a broken criminal justice system. He then appealed directly to the bill’s sponsors.
“You all need to understand that the protesters are not the issue here,” Hunt said. “The real issue here is structural and systemic racism and until we confront the elephant in the room, you will find yourself having to distract, deflect and deceive over and over again.”
Iliana Santillan, executive director of El Pueblo, said the summer of 2020 brought people together to fight against oppression.
“House Bill 805 is a direct attack on our right to assemble,” Santillan said. “This bill will criminalize Black protesters in North Carolina.”
Asked Wednesday about the bill, Cooper replied more needed to be done in terms of legislation.
“We should not have riots, and people who take part in riots should be prosecuted,” Cooper said at a news conference. “That needs to be said first.”
But Cooper added that his task force made significant proposals for racial equity in the criminal justice system and said that common sense changes are needed.
“That bill doesn’t include any of them, so I have real concerns about it, particularly when it’s by itself without these other issues that the legislature have been discussing,” Cooper said.
Colin Campbell contributed to this article.
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This story was originally published August 20, 2021 at 10:58 AM.
