2025 - 2026 LEGISLATURE
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2025 ASSEMBLY BILL 88
February 28, 2025 - Introduced by Representatives SORTWELL, BEHNKE, BRILL,
DITTRICH, DONOVAN, GOEBEN, GUNDRUM, B. JACOBSON, KNODL, MAXEY,
MOSES, MURPHY, MURSAU, O'CONNOR, TUSLER and WICHGERS, cosponsored by
Senators FEYEN, CABRAL-GUEVARA, NASS, TOMCZYK and WANGGAARD.
Referred to Committee on Judiciary.
***AUTHORS SUBJECT TO CHANGE***
AN ACT to create 66.0511 (5), 895.4465 and 947.065 of the statutes; relating
to: civil action for injury or damages resulting from riot or vandalism,
participation in a riot, prohibiting certain limitations or restrictions on law
enforcement responses to riot or vandalism activity, and providing a penalty.
Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau
This bill makes it a Class I felony to urge, promote, organize, encourage, or
instigate others to commit a riot and a Class H felony to intentionally commit an act
of violence while participating in a riot.
The bill defines a XriotY as a public disturbance that involves an act of violence,
as part of an assembly of at least three persons, that constitutes a clear and present
danger of property damage or personal injury or a threat of an act of violence, as
part of an assembly of at least three persons having the ability of immediate
execution of the threat, if the threatened action constitutes a clear and present
danger of property damage or personal injury.
The bill establishes a civil cause of action for any person who suffers injury or
loss to person or property as a result of conduct that violates the criminal
prohibitions on vandalism or participation in a riot. The bill allows a person to
bring a civil action against a person who committed the violation and against any
person or organization that provided material support or resources with the intent
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that such support or resources would be used to perpetrate the offense. The person
bringing the action may obtain an order requiring the offender to fix or repair the
damage caused to the person[s property if certain requirements set forth in the bill
are met.
The bill also prohibits any government official with authority over any law
enforcement agency or law enforcement officers from limiting or restricting the
authority of the agency to have its officers, or certain officers, arrest or detain
individuals involved in a riot or vandalism activity or take action to quell a riot or
vandalism activity. The bill also prohibits any government official with authority
over any law enforcement agency from limiting or restricting the authority of law
enforcement officers, or certain designated law enforcement officers, to arrest or
detain individuals involved in a riot or vandalism activity or to take action to quell
a riot or vandalism activity. Finally, the bill provides that no government official,
law enforcement agency, or law enforcement officer may discharge, demote,
reassign, or take any punitive action against any employee because the employee
made a charge, testified, assisted, or participated in any manner in any
investigation, proceeding, or hearing regarding a violation of the prohibitions on
government officials set forth in the bill.
Because this bill creates a new crime or revises a penalty for an existing crime,
the Joint Review Committee on Criminal Penalties may be requested to prepare a
report.
The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do
enact as follows:
SECTION 1. 66.0511 (5) of the statutes is created to read:
66.0511 (5) RIOT OR VANDALISM ACTIVITY POLICIES. (a) In this subsection:
1. XGovernment entityY means the state, a state agency, a political
subdivision, or any entity of local government.
2. XGovernment officialY means any elected or appointed officer, employee, or
agent of a government entity, other than a law enforcement officer, whether in a
temporary or permanent capacity.
3. XLaw enforcement officerY means any person employed by the state or any
political subdivision of the state, for the purpose of detecting and preventing crime
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and enforcing laws or ordinances and who is authorized to make arrests for
violations of the laws or ordinances that the person is employed to enforce.
4. XPolitical subdivisionY means a city, village, town, or county.
5. XRiot or vandalism activityY means any conduct that is in violation of s.
943.01 or 947.065 or in violation of any ordinance that is substantially equivalent to
either of those sections.
(b) No government official with authority over any law enforcement agency or
law enforcement officers may do any of the following:
1. Limit or restrict the authority of the law enforcement agency to have its law
enforcement officers, or certain designated law enforcement officers of the agency,
arrest or detain individuals involved in a riot or vandalism activity or take action to
quell a riot or vandalism activity.
2. Limit or restrict the authority of law enforcement officers, or certain
designated law enforcement officers of a law enforcement agency, to arrest or detain
individuals involved in a riot or vandalism activity or to take action to quell a riot or
vandalism activity.
(c) No government official, law enforcement agency, or law enforcement officer
may discharge, demote, reassign, or take any punitive action against any employee
because the employee made a charge, testified, assisted, or participated in any
manner in any investigation, proceeding, or hearing regarding a violation of par. (b).
SECTION 2. 895.4465 of the statutes is created to read:
895.4465 Action for injury or loss caused by riot or vandalism activity.
(1) In this section, Xmaterial support or resourcesY means currency, payment
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instruments, other financial securities, funds, transfer of funds, financial services,
communications, lodging, training, safe houses, false documentation or
identification, communications equipment, facilities, weapons, lethal substances,
explosives, personnel, transportation, and other physical assets, except medicine or
religious materials.
(2) (a) Any person who suffers injury or loss to person or property as a result
of an act committed in violation of s. 943.01 or 947.065 has a civil action against any
person who committed the violation and against any person or organization that
provided material support or resources with the intent that the material support or
resources would be used to perpetrate the offense. In the action, the person
bringing the action may obtain an order requiring the offender to fix or repair the
damage to property that was suffered by the person and may recover other damages
as set forth in pars. (b) and (c).
(b) 1. In a civil action brought under par. (a), if the person who brings the
action proves that the offender[s conduct is in violation of s. 943.01 or 947.065, or
that the conduct of any person in violation of either of s. 943.01 or 947.065 that
occurred at the same time as, was part of a common scheme or plan with, or was
part of a course of criminal conduct with the offender[s violation of either of those
sections and damage to property that was suffered by the person was a natural and
probable consequence of that person[s conduct, there is a presumption that the
offender shall be required to fix or repair the damage to property that occurred as a
natural and probable consequence of that conduct. The presumption applies with
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respect to each item of property that was damaged as a natural and probable
consequence of that conduct.
2. The presumption set forth in subd. 1. does not apply with respect to a
particular item of property, and the court may not issue an order requiring the
offender against whom the civil action is brought to fix or repair damage to that
item of property that occurred as a natural and probable consequence of the conduct
described in subd. 1. if the offender proves by clear and convincing evidence that the
offender did not personally engage in conduct in violation of s. 943.01 or 947.065 the
natural and probable consequence of which was damage to that item of property.
3. If the presumption described in subd. 1. applies, the court shall issue an
order requiring the offender against whom the civil action is brought to fix or repair
the damage to property that occurred as a natural and probable consequence of the
conduct described in subd. 1.
(c) In a civil action brought under par. (a), in addition to obtaining an order as
described in par. (b) requiring the offender against whom the action is brought to fix
or repair the damage to property that occurred as a natural and probable
consequence of conduct described in par. (b) 1., if applicable, the person who brings
the action may recover full compensatory damages, including damages for
emotional distress, and may recover court costs, other reasonable expenses incurred
in maintaining the action, and, notwithstanding s. 814.04 (1), reasonable attorney[s
fees incurred in maintaining the action.
(d) A person may bring a cause of action for violation of this section regardless
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of whether any person has been charged with or convicted of a violation of s. 943.01
or 947.065.
(e) For purposes of this subsection, when issuing an order for a person to fix or
repair the damage to property, the court may order the person either to personally
fix or repair the damage to the property that occurred as a natural and probable
consequence of the person[s conduct in violation of s. 943.01 or 947.065, to the
extent practicable, or to pay the cost of fixing or repairing the damage to the
property that occurred as a natural and probable consequence of the person[s
conduct in violation of s. 943.01 or 947.065.
SECTION 3. 947.065 of the statutes is created to read:
947.065 Rioting. (1) In this section:
(a) XInciteY means to urge, promote, organize, encourage, or instigate other
persons. XInciteY does not mean to advocate, orally or in writing, ideas or
expressions of belief that do not involve urging, promoting, organizing, encouraging,
or instigating or to assert, orally or in writing, the rightness of, or the right to
commit, an act.
(b) XRiotY means a public disturbance involving at least one of the following:
1. An act of violence by one or more persons that are part of an assembly of at
least 3 persons, that results in or constitutes a clear and present danger of damage
to the property of any other person or injury to another person.
2. A threat of the commission of an act of violence by one or more persons that
are part of an assembly of at least 3 persons having, individually or collectively, the
ability to immediately execute the threat, if the performance of the threatened act
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of violence constitutes a clear and present danger of damage to the property of any
other person or injury to another person.
(2) Whoever intentionally incites another to commit a riot is guilty of a Class
I felony.
(3) Whoever intentionally commits an act of violence while participating in a
riot is guilty of a Class H felony.
(END)
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