Success! Colorado House Rejects Attempt to Felonize Peaceful Protesters

Democrat sponsor Jacqueline Phillips claimed she only wanted to address domestic violence, but every public comment pointed out the massive flaws in her bill.

Good news! Yesterday the Colorado House Judiciary Committee stood up for our constitutional rights. The committee rejected house bill HB25-1142 through “indefinite postponement”, a bill sponsored by Democrat Jacque Phillips that aimed to Increase Criminal Penalty for Failure to Exit Premises.

While Phillips asserted the bill was intended to protect domestic abuse victims in cases where perpetrators barricaded themselves in homes, the existing law it aimed to amend broadly applies to “Failure or refusal to leave premises or property upon request of a peace officer” when the police declare a person “knowingly refuses or fails to leave any premises or property upon being requested to do so by a peace officer who has probable cause to believe a crime is occurring”.

The majority of committee members appeared highly skeptical from the start of the hearing, and every non-government public comment opposed the bill on grounds that giving police additional authority to make felony arrests endangers a wide range of constitutionally protected activities and could have a devastating chilling effect on free speech and rights of the unhoused, regardless of Phillips’ stated intent.

For quick reference, incidents like this one, in which a veteran was arrested for “panhandling” after he stood outside a Georgia city hall with a sign that said “God Bless The Vets”, could easily be escalated to felony charges under Phillips’ proposed bill, and all the officer would have to do is claim the individual refused to vacate, even if they had a constitutional right to stay there. The city of Alpharetta, Georgia ended up settling the resulting lawsuit for $55,000, which the local taxpayers had to pay, and not the police who violated the man’s rights. The Alpharetta police suffered precisely zero consequences for their own violation of the law.

Here in Colorado, the only people who spoke in support of HB25-1142 yesterday were Phillips herself and three police officers, while at least 35 people signed up to speak in opposition. Roughly 20 ended up speaking, including two lawyers, a representative of the Colorado ACLU, local activists, mutual aid workers, protesters and multiple individuals who simply identified themselves as concerned Colorado residents.

Multiple commenters noted that police often exceed their authority on the scene and detain or arrest individuals based on personal interpretations of the law and the supposed illegal actions that occured, rather than objective facts and ability to prove a crime was committed. Further, one individual and a lawyer both explained that there is no evidence that harsher penalties prevent crime. This is true. There is no data to indicate enhancing penalties for crimes prevents any civilians from committing those crimes, largely because criminals are unaware of the specifics of laws in the first place.

It’s likely more people would have spoken if the hearing had been more accessible and timely - the scheduled start time of 1:30 applied to two bills, and HB25-1142 didn’t even come up for discussion until 6pm, with public comments beginning around 7pm.

Finally, at 9pm, the committee voted to postpone the bill indefinitely, passing the motion by a vote of 7-4. The four who supported the bill are all Republicans, including at least two who openly scoffed at public commenters when they stated facts the committee member didn’t like. The seven who voted to postpone indefinitely are all Democrats. Phillips, the bill’s sponsor, is also a Democrat but does not serve on the Judiciary Committee. She claimed her experience as an attorney granted her superior knowledge of the effects of this bill.

In reality, bills like these greatly limit the ability of Americans to peacefully demonstrate or disrupt in support of a deeply held belief due to the severe legal consequences of felony convictions, which include prison, the potential loss of gun ownership and voting rights, and lifelong stigma regarding job and educational prospects. They also empower the police and courts to bully defendants into accepting plea deals, using the reality of felony convictions as a scare tactic.

Thank you to the Colorado House Judiciary Committee for protecting our constitutional rights to peaceful protest and refusing to hand even more power to law enforcement at a time when speech is already under constant threat at virtually every level of government.

And to the four committee members who voted in support of the bill, we will make sure your constituents know you don’t respect their rights or represent them. We look forward to seeing you replaced at the next electoral opportunity!