Bryce Kinnamon, chief of police, Cambridge, Md. Representative Donald D. Clancy, Second District, Ohio John A. Sorace, captain, Department of Police, Nashville, Tenn__ Robert Hill, lieutenant, Department of Police, Nashville, Tenn. 141, George C. Campbell, captain, Department of Police, Plainfield, Daniel S. Hennessey, lieutenant, Department of Police, Plainfield, J. S. de la Llana, sergeant, Department of Police, Tampa, Fla William Millard, detective, Department of Police, Newark, N.J. 13 216 ANTIRIOT BILL 1967 WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 2, 1967 U.S. SENATE, COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY, The committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:45 a.m., in room 1202, New Senate Office Building, Senator James O. Eastland (chairman) presiding. Present: Senator Eastland (presiding), McClellan, Ervin, Dodd, Hart, Long of Missouri, Kennedy of Massachusetts, Burdick, Tydings, Dirksen, Hruska, Fong, Scott, and Thurmond. Also present: John H. Holloman, III, chief clerk; Jay Sourwine, chief counsel, Subcommittee on Internal Security. STATEMENT BY SENATOR JAMES O. EASTLAND The CHAIRMAN. Let us have order. This is a legislative hearing. We shall be asking a great many questions of the witnesses who come before us today and in subsequent days, but the questions will have a legislative purpose. The bill before us is H.R. 421; and the text of this bill will be inserted in the record at this point. (H.R. 421 referred to follows:) [H.R. 421, 90th Cong., first sess.] AN ACT To amend title 18 of the United States Code to prohibit travel or use of any facility in interstate or foreign commerce with intent to incite a riot or other violent civil disturbance, and for other purposes Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States in Congress assembled, That (a) title 18 of the United States Code is amended by inserting, immediately after chapter 101 thereof, the following new chapter: "Whoever travels in interstate or foreign commerce or uses any facility in interstate or foreign commerce, including the mail, with intent to— "(a) incite a riot, or to organize, promote, encourage, or carry on a riot, or to commit any act of violence in furtherance of a riot, or to aid and abet any person in inciting a riot or committing any act of violence in furtherance of a riot, and "(b) thereafter performs or attempts to perform any overt act specified in paragraph (a), shall be fined not more than $10,000 or imprisoned not more than five years, or both. 1 "§ 2102. Definitions "For purposes of this chapter: "(a) A riot is a public disturbance, involving acts of violence by assemblages of three or more persons, which poses an immediate danger of damage or injury to property or persons. "(b) The term 'to incite a riot, or to organize, promote, encourage, or carry on a riot' means urging or instigating other persons to riot, but shall not mean the mere advocacy of ideas or the mere expression of belief. "S 2103. Preemption "Nothing contained in this chapter shall be construed as indicating an intent on the part of Congress to occupy the field in which any provisions of the chapter operate to the exclusion of State or local laws on the same subject matter, nor shall any provision of this chapter be construed to invalidate any provision of State law unless such provision is inconsistent with any of the purposes of this chapter or any provision thereof." (b) The table of contents to "PART I.-CRIMES" of title 18, United States Code, is amended by inserting after "101. Records and reports- a new chapter reference as follows: "102. Riots Passed the House of Representatives July 19, 1967. 2071" 2101". W. PAT JENNINGS, Clerk. The CHAIRMAN. It will be the task of this committee to determine not only whether this bill should be enacted, but to determine whether the bill is in the best possible form, or can be improved by amendment. It will also be a part of our job to determine, as best we can, what other legislative provisions, if any, should be enacted in order to deal with the threat to the very stability of this Nation which has been posed by the growing list of riot situations which have plagued city after city in this country. In order to do this job, we shall need a great deal of information; and we shall try to get that information from the witnesses who come before us. Let me say right here that these hearings, so far as the chairman of this committee is concerned, do not have any political purpose and will not be used for any political purpose; and I believe the members of this committee feel the same way I do on that score. We do not propose to indulge in recriminations. We are not seeking, and we will not be seeking, to find a scapegoat. It is not only proper, it is essential that we seek to learn as much as we can about what has caused these riots, what has triggered them in particular conditions, and what incitements have led to riot situations. But we seek this information not in order to lay blame at one door or another, but because we want to learn from experience. In order to do that, we must know what the experience has been in the various riot areas. We shall need to know, and we shall seek to find out, what kind of people have been participating in the riots, and in what situations. But we seek this information not for the purpose of injuring any group or any individual, but because it is reasonable to suppose that factors which are found to have been common to two or more riot situations in the past may constitute threats for the future, and what we are trying to do here is move toward the enactment of legislation which will eliminate such threats, or at least minimize them. We shall be asking questions here about what kind of weapons were used in particular riots, and how these weapons got into the |