Riots broke out in the city of Los Angeles in 1992 after the acquittal of four police officers who had attacked a black motorist, Rodney King. Fueled by racial tension, the riots resulted in the looting, arsons, assaults, and murder throughout the streets of Los Angeles.
riot
Definition
A concerted action: (1) made in furtherance of an express common purpose; (2) through the use or threat of violence, disorder, or terror to the public; and (3) resulting in a disturbance of the peace. Under common law, the crime of riot requires the assemblage of three or more actors. The concerted acts may be unlawful in themselves, or they may be lawful acts that are done in a violent or turbulent manner. Among the different forms that riots may take include escalated labor disputes or political demonstrations. While most riots occur in public places, they may also take place within prisons
Definition from Nolo’s Plain-English Law Dictionary
1) A turbulent and violent disturbance of peace by three or more people acting together. 2) An assemblage of people who are out of control, causing injury, or endangering the physical safety of others or themselves, causing or threatening damage to property, and often violating various laws both individually and as a group. The common thread is that the people in a riot have the power through violence to break the public peace and safety, requiring police action.
Definition provided by Nolo’s Plain-English Law Dictionary.
August 19, 2010, 5:23 pm
“The subject statute, Section 870.01(2), Florida Statutes (1973), reads as follows:
“‘All persons guilty of a riot, or of inciting or encouraging a riot, shall be guilty of a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in s 775.082, s 775.083, or s 775.084.’
“The term ‘riot’ is not defined in the statute and, therefore, the common law definition must be applied. Fields v. State, 85 So.2d 609 (Fla.1956); Smith v. State, 80 Fla. 315, 85 So. 911; See 77 C.J.S. Riot s 1 a, pp. 421-422. The term ‘riot’ at common law is defined as a tumultuous disturbance of the peace by three or more persons, assembled and acting with a common intent, either in executing a lawful private enterprise in a violent and turbulent manner, to the terror of the people, or in executing an unlawful enterprise in a violent and turbulent manner. 1 Hawkins on Pleas of the Crown 513 (8th Ed. 1824); Ballantine’s Law Dictionary 1121 (3d Ed. 1969); Black’s Law Dictionary 1490 (4th Ed. 1968); Salem Manufacturing Company v. First American Fire Insurance Company, 111 F.2d 797 (9th Cir. 1940).
“When considering the offense of inciting to riot, the words uttered by such person or the act done by him must be such as to support a finding that they were said or done with intent to provoke a riot. In the light of all the circumstances, the language used must clearly intend to incite a breach of the peace. Commonwealth v. Egan, 113 Pa.Super. 375, 173 A. 764 (1934). We recognize that our statute may not be used to interfere with an individual’s right to free speech. See Gooding v. Wilson, 405 U.S. 518, 92 S.Ct. 1103, 31 L.Ed.2d 408 (1972). For our statute to be constitutional, the words used must be such that they advocate violence and tend to incite an immediate breach of the peace.”
J. Overton, State v. Beasley, 317 So.2d 750, 752-753 (Fla. 1975).
