WI Assembly set to vote on bill that would make it a felony to encourage, engage in violence during a riot

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Anyone who encourages a riot or engages in violence during a riot would face felony charges under a bill Wisconsin's Assembly is poised to take up Wednesday.

The Republican-backed measure would make urging, promoting or organizing a riot a felony punishable by up to three years and six months in prison. Engaging in violence during a riot would a felony with up to six years in prison.

The bill defines a riot as a disturbance involving violence that’s part of a gathering of at least three people. The act of violence must have a clear and present danger of property damage or personal injury.

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Assembly approval would send the bill to the Senate. However, its prospects look dim. Democratic Gov. Tony Evers vetoed a similar bill last year that would have made attending a riot a misdemeanor with up to nine months' jail, and participating in a riot that causes property damage or injuries would have been a felony with up to three years and six months in prison.

The Wisconsin Assembly is set to vote on a bill that would make it a felony to encourage a riot or engage in violence during a riot.

Evers said in his veto message that it's already a crime to refuse police orders to withdraw from an unlawful assembly, and that the bill could infringe on free speech rights.

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Republicans introduced the bill after protesters burned swaths of downtown Kenosha, Wisconsin, and damaged statues during demonstrations against police brutality in 2020.