Arizona Senator Proposes Felony Charge for Protesters Who Block Highways, Bridges and Tunnels
Republican Sen. John Kavanagh of Fountain Hills wants blocking a major roadway for more than 15 minutes after a warning to leave to become a Class 6 felony.
By Juan Gonzalez ·
A state senator from Fountain Hills is again seeking to toughen Arizona penalties for people who obstruct traffic, this time with a proposal that would turn certain roadway blockades into felonies.
Republican Sen. John Kavanagh has put forward a measure that would make it a Class 6 felony for protesters to block a highway, bridge or tunnel for more than 15 minutes after being told to leave. A Class 6 felony carries a presumptive sentence of one year in state prison. Under the bill, the blockade would also have to keep at least 200 people from reaching their destinations.
Kavanagh said the idea came while he was watching a television news report about demonstrators who lay down across the westbound lanes of the Bay Bridge into San Francisco and kept them closed for roughly four hours. The group was demanding a ceasefire in Gaza.
The senator said the cause behind such a protest does not matter to him. He pointed to the consequences for people stuck in traffic, citing a lack of restrooms and reports that some vehicles carried organs meant for transplant. "It seems to me that if a small group of people literally steal four hours of thousands of people's lives for their protest, it should be more than a little misdemeanor," he said.
Current Arizona law includes a general statute covering traffic obstruction that creates an "inconvenience or hazard." It is a Class 2 misdemeanor, punishable by up to four months in county jail and a $750 fine. Kavanagh said that penalty is insufficient.
A former Port Authority of New York police officer, Kavanagh said he does not believe the proposal would create a hurdle for law enforcement. He also rejected the idea that the bill is politically motivated or aimed at particular kinds of demonstrations. "It could be conservative, liberal, anything," he said.
The proposal is not the senator's first effort to change state law over blocked or inconvenienced motorists. In 2016, he pushed legislation creating a Class 1 misdemeanor, with a maximum of six months in jail and a $2,500 fine, for blocking a highway or the entrance to a public forum in a way that prevents others from reaching a governmental meeting, a governmental hearing or a political campaign event.
Kavanagh attached that language to an existing bill after protesters tried to block a Donald Trump rally in Fountain Hills.
Source: KJZZ
