Law Professor: Felony Rioting Charges Could Provide Genuine ‘Deterrent Effect’ on Future Anarchists
Professor John Banzhaf, public interest law professor at George Washington University Law School, spoke with Breitbart News Daily SiriusXM host Alex Marlow on Monday about inauguration protesters being charged with felony rioting, as reported by Breitbart News. He examined how that could dissuade other violent rioters in the future.
Banzhaf said, “What can be done is changing the tone and saying that when you engage in serious criminal acts which hurt others … this may finally have a reasonable deterrent effect” on future mayhem.
Banzhaf also posted about the potential ramifications of this new prosecutorial approach in what he titled “DC Felony Prosecutions of Inauguration Day Rioters Will Deter Illegal Protests.”
Writes Banzhaf, “The threat of real prison time, and huge fines, will help deter many protesters who think engaging in criminal acts for a cause is appropriate, especially if the penalties are usually minor, if indeed they are even even imposed.”
“I think the bottom line is,” Banzhaf told Marlow, “they’re going to think twice when they’re facing serious prison time, as well as a major dollar fine.”
