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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2023 - 2024
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | October 11, 2023 02:09 PM |
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| From: | Representative Kathleen C. Tomlinson and Rep. Martina A. White, Rep. Joe Hogan |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Anti-looting legislative package |
| We all recently witnessed yet another round of lawlessness in the City of Philadelphia. Fueled by social media-based livestreams and posts inciting others to commit crimes, and outrageously using peaceful First Amendment protests as their nominal excuse to launch into rioting, scores of people throughout the city ransacked businesses, stole or destroyed goods, and placed other residents in fear. News accounts during the most recent round of rioting reported that many in the crowds were teenagers, just as similar mobs that struck a Center City Wawa and shut down the City's Fashion District were populated by juveniles bent on looting. The disorderly, delinquent, lawbreaking behavior of these criminals was clearly encouraged by 21-year old Dayjia Blackwell – better known to her over 185,000 followers as "Meatball." Throughout the first night of looting, Meatball gleefully sped about town, livestreaming herself cheerleading for those robbing businesses and suggesting new locations to burglarize. But Meatball's euphoria ended in her eventual arrest. Inciting a riot should not end happily for an instigator causing so much damage and danger. Meatball’s antics aside, those arrested and charged in the rampant looting included people like Kenneth Frye – a notorious alleged murderer who was out free on bail. Despite the best efforts of the city’s police, a lack of meaningful criminal consequences for those arrested for any number of crimes means this latest episode is almost certainly not the last time anarchy will descend on the city. That crime impacts not just the residents who are forced to shelter and protect themselves from these crowds, but bleeds into neighboring communities outside of Philadelphia as well. It impacts the entire state when one large business after another closes locations in Philadelphia or decides never to locate there in the first place. Our great colonial-era city, our economic engine of Southeastern Pennsylvania, our cultural gem is being dragged down into the ditch by crime and those who will not do enough to stop it. We know our proposals will not stop this lawlessness until there is a will to enforce the law in Philadelphia. But that will not stop us from providing the tools and incentives for those who want to prevent, deter, and punish individuals for their criminal acts. |
Document #1
| Description: | Description: Bill #1 (Tomlinson) This bill will create a new criminal offense for those who utilize social media to incite rioting, burglaries, thefts, or other dangerous criminal conduct that threatens others. It is not acceptable for influencers to utilize their social media platforms to cause crimes. |
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Document #2
| Description: | Description: Bill #2 (White) This bill will create a criminal offense specifically targeting looting. Although we have general crimes for burglary and theft, it is especially horrible when opportunistic predators use the distraction of a lawful protest or even a natural disaster – events which can cause a diversion of law enforcement assets to other important matters – to commit large scale burglaries and thefts. |
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Document #3
| Description: | Description: Bill #3 (Tomlinson) This bill will enhance public safety by providing teeth to youth curfews, giving a tool to police to arrest and charge juveniles who intentionally violate a lawful curfew with the clear and obvious intention of committing serious crimes against people or property. |
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Document #4
Introduced as HB1893
| Description: | Description: Bill #4 (Hogan) This bill will apply a sentencing enhancement to anyone who loots government property, including a liquor store. |
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