Brevity is the soul of wit, as Polonius said in Shakespeare’s classic drama “Hamlet.” And while we would never, ever, compare any legislation to the Bard’s creations, we commend Sen. Ted Cruz, R.-Texas, for his pithy five-word amendment to the RICO statute introduced in the Senate.
By including rioting as an activity that falls under RICO, Cruz’s amendment would add a much-needed punch to the powerful statute designed to deter organized criminal enterprises and punish those who fund them.
The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, better known as RICO, is housed squarely in the middle of the federal criminal code at 18 U.S.C. Section 1961. Passed into law in 1970 as part of the Organized Crime Control Act, it is designed to give federal prosecutors the tools to go after entire criminal enterprises by targeting their structure, operation, and funding, rather than just going after individual criminal actors.
Think of mafia movies like “Donnie Brasco,” “Goodfellas,” or “Casino,” where the feds go after crime bosses, holding them responsible for the actions of their underlings. That’s RICO in action!
Over the decades, federal prosecutors have used RICO to go after all sorts of organized criminal enterprises, including the mafia. The centerpiece of the RICO statute is “racketeering activity,” defined by Section 1961(1) as:
(A) any act or threat involving murder, kidnapping, gambling, arson, robbery, bribery, extortion, dealing in obscene matter, or dealing in a controlled substance or listed chemical, which is chargeable under State law and punishable by imprisonment for more than one year;
(B) any act which is indictable under any of the following provisions of title 18, United States Code, including:
- Bribery
- Sports bribery
- Counterfeiting
- Theft from interstate shipment
- Embezzlement from pension or welfare funds
- Extortionate credit transactions
- Identification fraud
- Mail fraud
- Wire fraud
The list of qualifying underlying criminal acts numbers almost 100.
Most civil disturbances, out-of-control gatherings, or riots are, if criminal in nature at all, local offenses rather than federal ones. But riots can also be federal criminal offenses.
Under 18 U.S.C. Section 2101, it is a federal crime if a person travels in interstate or foreign commerce, or if that person uses any facility of interstate or foreign commerce (i.e., phone, text, Signal messages, and the like) to incite, organize, promote, encourage, participate in, or carry on a riot, or to commit any act of violence in furtherance of a riot, or to aid or abet any person who incites, participates, or carries on a riot.
Notice that this definition does not criminalize speech or freedom of association—rather, it criminalizes conduct. The maximum possible penalty is five years’ imprisonment and a fine, or both.
Cruz’s new amendment adds to the list of predicate offenses under racketeering. The exact language is: “section 2101 (relating to riots).”
To the untrained eye, this proposed language might get lost in the already long list of criminal statutes.
So, what does this new language do?
If the amendment becomes law, it will enable the federal government to use RICO to investigate and prosecute not only those people who qualify as federal rioters but also those organizations and individuals who are funding the violent riots across the country. As opposed to charging individuals with violations of the riot act, the government will be able to charge the organizers, funders, and logistical supporters of rioters as a group for violating RICO.
This amendment not only makes common sense, it should garner bipartisan support. Federal rioting is already a crime. The Justice Department has used the RICO statute effectively against left-wing and right-wing criminal enterprises alike.
Today’s organized riots against Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and Trump enforcement actions are not spontaneous unfunded actions by local actors—and they should not be treated as such. By adding rioting to the list of predicate offenses for racketeering, Cruz’s amendment gives the Justice Department the ammo it needs to punish the rioters and those funding them.
Originally published by National Review
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