CRS § 18-9-104 – Rioting – Colorado Law & Penalties

Colorado Revised Statute § 18-9-104 makes engaging in a riot a misdemeanor or felony, depending on your actions and whether a weapon was involved. It is not unusual for peaceful protesters or innocent bystanders to be wrongly arrested for rioting.

The full text of the statute reads:

(1) A person commits an offense if he or she engages in a riot. The offense is a class 4 felony if in the course of rioting the actor employs a deadly weapon, a destructive device, or any article used or fashioned in a manner to cause a person to reasonably believe that the article is a deadly weapon, or if in the course of rioting the actor represents verbally or otherwise that he or she is armed with a deadly weapon; otherwise, it is a class 2 misdemeanor.

(2) The provisions of section 18-9-102(2) are applicable to attempt, solicitation, and conspiracy to commit an offense under this section.

In this article, our Denver Colorado criminal defense lawyers will address:

• 1. What is a riot?
• 2. Engaging in a Riot
• 3. Inciting a Riot
• 4. Arming Rioters
• 5. Disobeying Police Orders
• 6. Defenses
• 7. Did the 2020 unrest qualify as rioting?
• 8. Related Offenses
• Additional Reading

1. What is a riot?

In Colorado, a “riot” is a public disturbance involving a group of three or more people that:

• creates a danger of injury,
• causes damage to property, or
• substantially obstructs the performance of any governmental function.¹

Sometimes police jump the gun and call a peaceful assembly a riot. Sometimes a couple of individuals go too far and destroy property, causing the police to label all the peaceful protesters as rioters.

Rioting can be a misdemeanor or a felony.

2. Engaging in a Riot

Engaging in a riot is a class 2 misdemeanor if you caused no property damage and no one was injured. The penalties include:

• up to 120 days in jail and/or
• up to $750 in fines.

However, you face class 4 felony charges if you used a:

• deadly weapon,
• destructive device, or
• any object or verbal cues or gestures to suggest you were armed.²

The felony penalties are:

• 2 to 6 years in prison,
• a fine of up to $500,000, and
• mandatory parole for 3 years.

3. Inciting a Riot

Inciting a riot is a separate crime from engaging in a riot. It is urging a group of others to participate in a violent or dangerous public disturbance. CRS 18-9-102 states:

Inciting a riot is a class 1 misdemeanor, carrying:

• up to 364 days in jail and/or
• a fine of up to $1,000.

However, if anyone is injured or if property is damaged, inciting a riot is a class 5 felony. The penalties are:

• 1 to 3 years in prison,
• fines of up to $100,000, and
• a mandatory parole period of 2 years.³

Note that you can be charged with inciting a riot even if the riot never takes place.

4. Arming Rioters

Even if you do not participate in or incite a riot, you can be charged with arming rioters for supplying weapons to rioters. CRS 18-9-103 states:

(1) A person commits arming rioters if he:

(a) Knowingly supplies a deadly weapon or destructive device for use in a riot; or

(b) Teaches another to prepare or use a deadly weapon or destructive device with intent that any such thing be used in a riot.⁴

Arming rioters is a class 4 felony. The penalties include:

• 2 to 6 years in prison,
• a fine of up to $500,000, and
• mandatory parole for 3 years.

Peaceful protests are not riots.

5. Disobeying Police Orders

When a riot is taking place or impending, you must obey reasonable public safety orders to move, disperse or refrain from specified activities in the immediate vicinity.

Under C.R.S. 18-9-105:

a public safety order is an order designed to prevent or control disorder or promote the safety of persons or property issued by an authorized member of the police, fire, military, or other forces concerned with the riot.⁵

Disobeying public safety orders under riot conditions is a class 2 misdemeanor. The penalties include:

• up to 120 days in jail and/or
• up to $750 in fines.

Members of the press may not have to follow the public order to disperse unless they are physically obstructing efforts by the police to cope with the riot.

6. Defenses

Riots and protests can be confusing for police to monitor. Many innocent people are wrongly arrested for “rioting” during peaceful protests or just for being in the wrong place at the wrong time when things get out of hand.

Common defenses to rioting charges may include:

• You did not participate in the riot,
• You were the victim of mistaken identification,
• You were attempting to disperse when you were arrested,
• You did not incite or encourage any riotous or violent behavior,
• You were an innocent bystander,
• Your statements were protected free speech, and/or
• You were a member of the media observing or recording the event.

7. Did the 2020 unrest qualify as rioting?

The peaceful Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests that took place in Colorado and throughout the United States in the aftermath of the George Floyd murder were perfectly legal. Peacefully demonstrating for police reforms or even defunding the police breaks no laws.

On rare occasions, some protests turned into riots when participants:

• vandalized,
• destroyed property,
• physically injured others, and/or
• obstructed the performance of the government.⁶

8. Related Offenses

Loitering – C.R.S. 18-9-112

It is a petty offense in Colorado to loiter within 100 feet of a school when anyone under 18 is present or you have been asked to leave by school administrators. The penalties for loitering near a school include:

• up to 10 days in jail and
• a fine of up to $300.

Obstructing Highways and other Passageways – C.R.S. 18-9-107

Protesting in a way that blocks an indoor or outdoor passageway such as a highway, street, sidewalk, hallway, or elevator is a petty offense. It carries:

• up to 10 days in jail and/or
• up to $300 in fines.

Disrupting a Lawful Assembly – C.R.S. 18-9-108

Protesting in a way that prevents or disrupts any lawful meeting, procession or gathering is a petty offense. The penalties for disrupting an assembly include:

• up to 10 days in jail and/or
• up to $300 in fines.

Additional Reading

For more in-depth information, refer to these scholarly articles:

• Rethinking the Crime of Rioting – Minnesota Law Review.
• Anatomy of Riots: A Situational Crime Prevention Approach – Crime Prevention and Community Safety.
• The Demand for Order in Civil Society: A Review of Some Themes in the History of Urban Crime, Police, and Riot – Theories and Origins of the Modern Police.
• On the Function of Criminal Law in Riot Control – Boston University Law Review.
• Violence, U.S.A: Riots and Crime – Crime & Delinquency.

Legal References