George Floyd protests trigger wave of GOP "anti-riot" laws

Dramatic protests after the murder of George Floyd have triggered backlash from state GOP lawmakers who are now trying to crack down on public demonstrations.

Dramatic protests that unsettled the nation after the murder of George Floyd in police custody have triggered quiet but growing backlash from state Republican lawmakers who are now pushing legislation to crack down on public demonstrations. At least 90 bills targeting protests have been introduced across 35 states since last May, according to the nonpartisan International Center for Not-for-Profit Law which has been tracking the legislation. "We haven't seen anything like this in our experience tracking these trends," said Elly Page, the group's senior legal adviser and director of the U.S. Protest Law Tracker. They are "unprecedented in their nature, in the extreme lengths they go to restrict and chill protest rights." Florida last week became the latest state to enact what proponents dub "anti-riot" legislation. The measure tightens penalties for public disorder and the definition of "riot" as a disturbance of as few as three people acting violently.