Traffic Blockers: Make Them Pay

Blocking traffic to demand that lawmakers kill the economy with brain-dead energy policies or that they kill Israel is a dangerous, costly, and stupid practice. There is zero First Amendment justification for doing this kind of injury to the community. There is a risk to the lives of others by blocking emergency vehicles. There is an inherent danger of triggering violent confrontations with frustrated motorists.

The existing remedy is the threat of arrest and prosecution for charges like disturbing the peace, trespassing, or disorderly conduct. These charges can be compounded by additional offenses such as resisting arrest. Ideally, those penalties would be increased for traffic-blocking and also be uniformly applied.

Unlawful demonstrations for locally disfavored favored causes (e.g., right-to-life, election integrity, parental rights) might result in serious sanctions whereas demonstrators for favored causes (saving the planet, race grifting, Islamist terrorism and rape) might expect to evade significant consequences. Clearly, many such persons do not fear the law as currently configured.

Some lawmakers have pushed for legal protection for drivers who fear for their safety when blocked by mobs and then subsequently injure their attackers when acting to escape. That is a reasonable development. However, it is limited to the realm of criminal law. I think we also need to consider new civil remedies such as:

• Deliberate obstruction of a public road for a duration exceeding… (5 minutes? 10?) establishes civil liability. The operator of each vehicle made to wait for the required time is entitled to (a) liquidated damages of (say, $1,000) in joint and several liability for all protestors, organizers, and planners, or (b) any provable direct losses in lieu of the liquidated damages minimum.
• Once vehicle operators see a reasonable opportunity to proceed as when a lane is opened by the physical removal of some protestors, any protestor who then puts himself/herself/themselves in the way of and is then struck by such vehicle is barred from any recovery for personal injury or other losses resulting from that collision. In addition, such persons may be liable for damage to or the costs of cleaning the bumper or exterior of the vehicle.

Those changes would be in state law. We then need Congress to step in:

1. Civil liability obligations incurred by violating state statutes for road-blocking are not dischargeable in bankruptcy if the road blocked was built or repaired using federal highway funds. (Just like student loans. why not?)
2. If the offender is not a citizen, the failure to immediately discharge the debt is grounds for arrest and immediate deportation.

In short, if you block a road I can run you over without consequence and if the whole encounter took more than 5 minutes out of my day, or scratches a fender you will also pay me money as will the idiots who provided the signs, banners, and the whole dumb idea to do it.

Harsh? Congress established a penalty of $10,000/6 months for the first offense and $25,000/18 months for the second offense for non-violent interference with access to an abortion clinic. The nexus to interstate commerce for that statute is a stretch and the First Amendment does not protect that form of protest. Therefore, doesn't it seem reasonable that those who block access to entire communities (with a larger likely connection to interstate commerce than abortion) should be subject to commensurate penalties?