If Republicans in Arizona’s senate have their way, police in that state could soon have the power to seize assets and property from protesters, the Arizona Capitol Times reports.
From a February 22 article:
Claiming people are being paid to riot, Republican state senators voted Wednesday to give police new power to arrest anyone who is involved in a peaceful demonstration that may turn bad — even before anything actually happened.
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.
Essentially, under this bill cops could arrest anyone at a demonstration that suddenly turns violent, however peaceful it might’ve started. They would even be able to target people who had nothing to do the property damage.
Stephen Lemons, writing for the Phoenix New Times, covered a hearing on S.B. 1142 by Arizona’s Senate Judiciary Committee last week.
Highlighting that certain senate Democrats “noted the obvious: that public protests often involve different groups with varying tactics,” he pointed out that, hypothetically, peaceful protesters could be held responsible “for the violent actions of a different faction or of individuals who act out while others remain calm.”
But it gets even worse than that, as the Arizona Capitol Times pointed out Wednesday: “By including rioting in racketeering laws, it actually permits police to arrest those who are planning events.”
Planning events. Meaning cops will have the authority to investigate activists before the demonstrations even take place.
This is what Republican state senator Sonny Borrelli, the author of S.B. 1142, called targeting “the money source” in his defense of the bill before the committee meeting last week.
Citing the conservative notion that a legion of privately funded progressive protesters is clogging up governmental works all over the country, Borrelli said the law would go after those “paid to go out and create this damage.”
And if it takes cops infiltrating political groups on the taxpayers’ dime — on the razor-thin pretext of maybe preventing a potentially violent demonstration down the road — so be it, at least according to Republican attitudes in Arizona.
“I should certainly hope that our law enforcement people have some undercover people there,” state senator John Kavanagh said, referring to police authority under S.B. 1142 to investigate political demonstrations while in the planning stages.
“Wouldn’t you rather stop a riot before it starts?” he also said.
Again, potential riot.
The bigger issue at play, as noted by the Arizona Capitol Times, is the chilling effect such legislation would have on free speech. After all, if a person could get arrested for simply participating in a political demonstration — regardless of their own peaceful motives and actions — that person might decline to get involved.
S.B. 1142 would actively enforce the notion of guilt by association. If would punish the innocent who are wishing only to exercise their right of free expression, all because of the actions of criminals.
Such legislation would further complicate an environment of political unrest, made of both positive and negative forces, as State Senator Martin Quezada, Democrat out of Phoenix, highlighted Wednesday:
When people want to express themselves as a group during a time of turmoil, during a time of controversy, during a time of high emotions, that’s exactly when people gather as a community. Sometimes they yell, sometimes they scream, sometimes they go too far.
Unconstitutional PERIOD.
They should however be able to seize assets after they have been convicted to pay for the property damage and that include fancy cell phones & cars. IF they damage property and do not have the money to pay for the damage then seizing assets when arrested until the courts deem the innocent[return of property] or demand cash payment or assets if that fails like any other monetary judgement.Guilt by association is probably unwarranted because they could be simply excercising their freedom of peaceful assembly.No one can be responsible for another person’s criminal actions.
Keep in mind, many of these protesters are minors or living in their parent’s basements.
Looks like the legislation intends to cast a wide net to get at the significant few comprised of professional agitators that seem to show up at protests/riots across the nation.
Unless minors are legally emancipated, their parents are responsible. 🙂 There are your assets 🙂 Already warned my kids!
Good to know.
As much as I can’t stand those people, seizing their property is flat wrong. Nowhere in the Constitution does it allow for such things. Be careful of what you wish for, you might get it!
If you get caught driving drunk or on drugs they are able to take your car
True, but freedom of driving is not a constitutional right. Freedom of speech is. 1st amendment. Read the constitution!
Rights are unlimited.
Government power is limited.
The freedom to travel is a right. Feet. Wagons. etc.
What constitution??? That went out the window under Bush 2
What about arresting the PAYMASTER, GEORGE SOROS and the CLINTONS.!!!!!
That would solve 99% of the problems Soros has been pay for anarchy for years and getting away with it.
Otherwise, where is the restraint?
Fake news: tens of millions of protesters worldwide paid by Soros. Recount paid by Soros. California drought paid for by Soros. The Holocaust caused by Soros. Scapegoat, shift blame, deny that most Americans reject Trump and voted against him. Fake news……………..protesters are actors…pay no attention. Dissent is fake. This is what Hitler did, the prototype of all unjust rulers…………………………….wake up sheeple!
I have mentioned this before, Soros seems to have unlimited funds for these purposes. I have long thought he is only the tip of the spear . The questions is who is financing his operations, yet the whole of the us military stands idely by doing nothing. Second question, whos got that kind of money and power? I say the bankers as in the rothchilds central banks. They are almost certainly funding our destruction. keith
EVERYONE MUST SEE THIS VIDEO! Top Illuminati Grand Wizard: “We Control Islam and We’ll Use It to Destroy the West.” (WW3).
Another statement which makes so much sense and contains so much pure but “ignored” simple logic, I pine from not being able to upvote it more than once.
I agree with both of you, so I upvoted it for you Paschn. These same evil people with loads of money pay these poor slobs to do their dirty work for a few bucks. And they do it with impunity from prosecution.
Why not simply directly kill these elements now that the banksters don’t them anymore?
You forgot to add the bill added thoughtcrime to the definitions of ‘making arrests before violence occurs.’
Bloody daft.
The freedom to protest has been destroyed by the liberal Soros backed disruption and divide policy which can only lead to the creation of opposing sides, despite the fact they originate from a mutual area or background.
DIVIDE 8 CONQUER……..yay.
Why aren’t the citizens of Arizona initiating recall petitions on those Republicans who came up with this insanity? Get off your butts and take action!
Its called restitution….already happens every day.
You have to be convicted.
Try reading the 5th Amendment.
Nothing wrong with protesting. As a matter of fact it is a constitutional right. Rioting, vandalizing and looting is not. I recall from school history classes that we once fought a revolution over this type of asinine nonsense that is proposed in this law! Perhaps it would prove wiser as well as more profitable if the state went after the assets of provocatores such as George Soros instead.
This actually already happens! Its called restitution. If you own property, and its damaged by someone, you can already file suit, or your insurance company can. I think the District Attorney was behind ours. One night there were some kids that smashed out the windows in our van, and about 40 or 50 other cars in town. They were caught. We were paid. Ours was $1200.00. Expensive night for those kids, and their parents.
There may be some different details in this bill, but for now, I think Mr. James Holbrooks and the Activist News has tried to sell a sensationalized story to who will ever buy it. And there are many who will!
Hmmm, if it goes too far it will be challenged and fleshed out at the Federal level.
At this point, may be OK to go ahead with it and see where it goes.
How about we make Christianity against the law and see where it goes?
Not analogous M.
Countries are not religions.
“The bigger issue at play, as noted by the Arizona Capitol Times, is the chilling effect such legislation would have on free speech.”
It seems lately, PROTESTERS have had a chilling effect on free speech!
What about the cops protesting our right to protest and stop sending out violent provocateurs to discredit our basic rights of speech, assembly, and the right to protest? What about defending our rights rather than fake news about protesters (by the millions) being hired actors and other lies invented to discredit dissent in a nation where the vast majority oppose the current regime, which lost the actual election by 3 million votes.
Those who rule without consent, according to our founding document,rule illegitimately and unjustly. All such tyrants much use violence, threats, and lies to buck the headwind of popular rejection.
How about the cops stopping the tyrants instead of those resisting them?
Arizona thy name is fascism!
Not on this subject ,question ? What is going on with the Sheriff turning loose all these criminals who happen to be illegal border crosser s.?
Hefty fines would be constitutional. Seizing assets is government theft.
Arizona is a police state dunghole – if the can’t frame you, they’ll scam you, if they can’t get away with that, they’ll asset forfeiture. If they can’t do that, they’ll outright steal your car/break into your residence, etc. They are fond of saying nowadays “Rules Don’t Apply”. OK, now we know the manner in which to respond. Open war.
Civil asset forfeiture laws have been abused too long, they need to be repealed. However, persons funding domestic terrorism (ex. Soros) should have their assets frozen and be arrested. Protesters that turn into rioters need to be arrested and made to pay (or work off in prison) 3x the cost of their damage.
The FUKUSHIMA disaster in Japan will silence all this in a week or two