OKLAHOMA CITY (CN) — The Oklahoma House of Representatives passed a Republican bill Wednesday that provides civil and criminal protection for motorists who kill or injure rioters, months after several American cities grappled with protests against the killing of George Floyd and against government restrictions during the pandemic.
In a 79-18 vote largely along party lines, the Oklahoma House approved House Bill 1674. The bill proposes motorists who “unintentionally” injure or kill rioters will not face criminal or civil liability as long as they have “a reasonable belief that fleeing was necessary to protect the motor vehicle operator from serious injury or death.” The bill also extends such protections to motorists who “exercise due care” at the time of death or injury.
The bill defines a rioter as a person engaging in “any murder, maiming, robbery, rape or arson” during civil unrest.
HB 1674 is authored by Republican state Representatives Kevin West and Kevin McDugle. West described a motorist in Oklahoma who was surrounded in a roadway by protesters last summer with his wife and two small children while in his truck.
“The protesters beat at his truck and threw things at it, scaring both him and his family,” West said in a written statement. “The driver was severely chastised for trying to hurt the protesters and he even faced the possibility of criminal charges for his actions in attempting to evade the protesters. This measure would clarify a motorist’s rights in a similar situation going forward.”
During debate on the House floor Tuesday, McDugle said he was inspired to author the bill by a confrontation in Tulsa on May 31 between a motorist pulling a horse trailer with a horse inside and protesters.
“The crowd tried to block I-244 and keep traffic from moving, he was stopped dead in the road until bricks were thrown at his vehicle,” McDugle said. “A firebomb was actually thrown into the truck with the horse and burned the horse and he tried to get away from that.”
Democratic Representative Regina Goodwin disputed McDugle's description of the confrontation.
“I don’t know where that information came from,” she responded.
Goodwin added that a protester that night fell from the interstate and broke his neck and back.
“These kinds of bills that encourage folks to go ahead and take their cars and plow into the crowd … did you know that before the guy ran through the crowd, he had a gun on his dashboard and he was showing it off to folks in the crowd?” Goodwin asked.
Goodwin asked McDugle how the paralyzed protester “squares” with the bill’s language that the motorist must exercise due care.
HB 1674 also seeks to strengthen criminal penalties against protesters who obstruct roadways and make them impassable or hazardous. The bill seeks to make such violations misdemeanors punishable by up to one year in state prison and subject to fines of up to $5,000.
The bill also seeks to punish organizations that conspire with individuals convicted of crimes under rioting statutes by increasing applicable fines by ten times.
HB 1674 now advances to the Oklahoma Senate, where it is authored by Republican state Senator Rob Standridge.
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