The North Carolina House of Representatives passed an “anti-rioting bill,” Preventing Rioting and Civil Disorders, by 75-43. Enough votes to override a governor’s veto.
The media is portraying the bill as a tough new anti-rioting act being passed in response to deadly nationwide BLM rioting in 2020.
It is actually a slightly watered-down revision of an anti-rioting act that the North Carolina legislature already passed in August 2021. However, Governor Ray Cooper previously vetoed the bill at the request of far-left activists and Black racial militants.
House Bill 805, the bill’s first version, passed by the House 63-41 and the Senate 25-19. This bill increased criminal penalties for crimes committed during a riot.
Among those crimes is willful inciting a riot. In North Carolina, willful incitement is normally a class 1 misdemeanor. Bill 805 made it a potential Class E felony if damages totaled $1,500 or more or if there was bodily injury.
The new House Bill 40 is nearly the same bill. However, it changes the willful incitement part so that the $2,500 in property damage is required instead of $1,500. This was part of the bill most opposed by the far left.
While many states have laws against willful incitement of a riot, barely anyone is prosecuted.
House Bill 40 was passed by all Republicans and six Democrats.
