Gov. Andrew Cuomo is proposing that New York’s hate crimes law be amended to add inciting to riot and rioting to the list of offenses that are punishable as a hate crime when rioting is directed at a protected class—such as a racial or ethnic group—following the protests in Charlottesville, Virginia, this weekend that left one civilian and two state troopers dead and a score injured.
Under Cuomo’s proposal, the penalties for engaging in rioting would be increased from a Class E felony to a Class D felony. Inciting to riot would also be increased from a Class A misdemeanor to a Class E felony.
