A new law that increases penalties for demonstrators who block public roadways and grants immunity to motorists who unintentionally kill or injure protesters when attempting to flee is gaining attention as other states consider following suit.
The changes were made in Oklahoma, not Minnesota, with proponents of the bill arguing that the change will help to crack down on illegal protests.
“This is an important protection for citizens who are just trying to get out of a bad situation,” Oklahoma state Rep. Kevin West, a sponsor of the bill, said in a statement. “When fleeing an unlawful riot, they should not face threat of prosecution for trying to protect themselves, their families or their property.”
Under the new law, obstructing the use of a public street or highway during a protest is considered a misdemeanor offense, punishable by up to a year in county jail and/or a fine ranging from $100 to $5,000, depending on the specifics of the arrest. However, more of the attention is on the other part of the law change, which grants immunity to motorists who unintentionally injure or kill protesters while attempting to flee “from a riot.” Critics of the bill say it gives motorists immunity to use their vehicle as a weapon when inconvenienced by protesters.
Proponents of the change said the language in the new law specifically spells out when a motorist can cause harm to a protester. It states that the harm must be unintentional and the vehicle occupants must feel like they are in imminent danger, “like people are trying to break open the windows or trying to drag somebody out of the vehicle,” said State Senator Rob Standridge, a sponsor of the bill. “Hopefully everything quiets down around the country, and this bill won’t be needed for anybody, but if things come to Oklahoma like have been happening, this will protect some folks.”
The bill passed largely along party lines, and was originally introduced in the wake of the widely publicized incident in Tulsa last May where a pickup truck drove through a crowd gathered on an interstate to protest the killing of George Floyd. You can see that video below.
The Tulsa County District Attorney’s Office announced in July that it would not press charges against the driver, despite the fact that the incident injured three people and left one man paralyzed from the waist down, because he, his wife and his two children were all “in a state of immediate fear for their safety,” and had been victims of a “violent and unprovoked attack by multiple individuals who unnecessarily escalated an already dangerous circumstance by obstructing an interstate highway,” the office noted in a memo.
Getting The Message Across While Protesting
We understand that tensions are still high in the wake of our current political landscape and everything else going on throughout the country, but if you’re going to protest, you need to do it legally. We even wrote a blog on “How To Protest Legally” so that activists can get their message out in a safe and effective message. Illegal protests that block highways do nothing to help get the message across, and if anything it’s only going to push people away from your side.
We’ve seen illegal protests like the one in Tulsa right in our backyard. In 2023, a man drove through a Pro Palestine protest that was blocking a roadway in Minneapolis.
Even when the proper channels are followed, it only takes one or two unruly attendees to turn a crowd violent and a gathering into an illegal riot. Protesting in the road is incredibly dangerous, and frankly quite stupid if you actually want to generate support for your cause. It will not be surprising if other states follow Oklahoma’s lead and put protections in place for drivers attempting to flee from a dangerous situation that is the direct result of an unlawful protest.
