# What was the "riot act"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 20, 2004, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-riot-act/230207 "2004-02-20T15:14:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![TGWATY](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b5e925/32.png) [@TGWATY](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TGWATY)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2004, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-riot-act/230207/1 "2004-02-20T15:14:26Z")
In the film _The Hill_ (which I highly recommend) the sergeant-major threatens the near-rioting prisoners with “I’ll read you the riot act” to get them to calm down and in the context of the film he means the phrase _literally_. The threat had a significant effect on the prisoners. So what was the “riot act”? ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2004, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-riot-act/230207/2 "2004-02-20T15:21:22Z")
[The origin of "Reading the Riot Act.](http://www.quinion.com/words/qa/qa-rea1.htm) > [@](#): > > …The government feared uprisings, and passed a draconian law making it a felony if a group of more than twelve persons refused to disperse more than an hour after magistrates had told them to do so. To invoke the law, the magistrates had to read the relevant section of the Act aloud to the mob, something that often required courage… ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2004, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-riot-act/230207/3 "2004-02-20T15:31:46Z")
The reading of the riot act allowed the British army to be called in to quell disturbances. To invoke the Riot Act of 1715, the following had to be read out loud: > [@](#): > > _Our Sovereign Lord the King chargeth and commandeth all persons being assembled immediately to disperse themselves, and peaceably to depart to their habitations or to their lawful business, upon the pains contained in the act made in the first year of King George for preventing tumultuous and riotous assemblies. God save the King._ ---
**Author:** ![Kizarvexius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/da6949/32.png) [@Kizarvexius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kizarvexius)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2004, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-riot-act/230207/4 "2004-02-20T15:39:13Z")
The key to the whole notion is that once the riot act has been read, if the crowd fails to dispurse, soldiers were allowed to open fire and shoot to kill. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2004, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-riot-act/230207/5 "2004-02-20T15:42:50Z")
By the way, Cecil covered this in _More of the Straight Dope_ (1988, p. 263), but that particular column is not online. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2004, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-riot-act/230207/6 "2004-02-21T04:34:54Z")
Reading the Riot proclamation is still part of Canadian criminal law. Instead of being a separate Riot Act, it’s now part of the [Criminal Code](http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/C-46/40904.html): > [@](#): > > \*\*Reading proclamation > > 67.\*\* A person who is > > (a) a justice, mayor or sheriff, or the lawful deputy of a mayor or sheriff, > > (b) a warden or deputy warden of a prison, or > > © the institutional head of a penitentiary, as those expressions are defined in subsection 2(1) of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act, or that person’s deputy, > > who receives notice that, at any place within the jurisdiction of the person, twelve or more persons are unlawfully and riotously assembled together shall go to that place and, after approaching as near as is safe, if the person is satisfied that a riot is in progress, shall command silence and thereupon make or cause to be made in a loud voice a proclamation in the following words or to the like effect: > > Her Majesty the Queen charges and commands all persons being assembled immediately to disperse and peaceably to depart to their habitations or to their lawful business on the pain of being guilty of an offence for which, on conviction, they may be sentenced to imprisonment for life. GOD SAVE THE QUEEN. > \*\*Offences related to proclamation > > 68.\*\* Every one is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for life who > > (a) opposes, hinders or assaults, wilfully and with force, a person who begins to make or is about to begin to make or is making the proclamation referred to in section 67 so that it is not made; > > (b) does not peaceably disperse and depart from a place where the proclamation referred to in section 67 is made within thirty minutes after it is made; or > > © does not depart from a place within thirty minutes when he has reasonable grounds to believe that the proclamation referred to in section 67 would have been made in that place if some person had not opposed, hindered or assaulted, wilfully and with force, a person who would have made it. I remember it being used at a summer resort area in the interior of B.C. about 20 years ago, when a big party got badly out of hand. ---
**Author:** ![AZRob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/azrob/32/3003_2.png) [@AZRob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AZRob)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2004, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-riot-act/230207/7 "2004-02-21T05:27:02Z")
here’s another modern-day example (from the state of Arizona, USA)… \*\* "13-2902. Unlawful assembly; classification\*\* A. A person commits unlawful assembly by: 1. Assembling with two or more other persons with the intent to engage in conduct constituting a riot as defined in section 13-2903; or 2. Being present at an assembly of two or more other persons who are engaged in or who have the readily apparent intent to engage in conduct constituting a riot as defined in section 13-2903 and knowingly remaining there and refusing to obey an official order to disperse. B. Unlawful assembly is a class 1 misdemeanor. \*\* 13-2903. Riot; classification\*\* A. A person commits riot if, with two or more other persons acting together, such person recklessly uses force or violence or threatens to use force or violence, if such threat is accompanied by immediate power of execution, which disturbs the public peace. B. Riot is a class 5 felony. " cites: [http://www.azleg.state.az.us/ars/13/02902.htm](http://www.azleg.state.az.us/ars/13/02902.htm) [http://www.azleg.state.az.us/ars/13/02903.htm](http://www.azleg.state.az.us/ars/13/02903.htm) In Arizona, unlawful assembly is not, in itself, justification for deadly force, although there’s as provision for use of deadly force in reference to an armed rioter (cite: [http://www.azleg.state.az.us/ars/13/00410.htm](http://www.azleg.state.az.us/ars/13/00410.htm)). I’m sure most places have a similar statute. Rob