Thread by @artcrimeprof

I've been tracking state legislatures that have seen the introduction of bills proposing increasing criminal penalties for vandalizing monuments since the 2020 protests. Here's my list:

Alabama HB 133 (2021): would establish the crimes of damaging a public monument in the 1st and 2nd degrees, would provide criminal penalties, including a mandatory minimum sentence for a violation, and would provide for a mandatory holding period for an arrest.

Arizona HB 2552 (2021): damaging a public monument = aggravated criminal damage

SB 1639 (2021): recklessly damaging a public monument = criminal damage and enacts punishments for different degrees

Arkansas HB 1313 (2021): expands offense of defacing or damaging a public building or an object of public respect to damaging any public monument

Florida SB 484 (2021): Injuring or removing a monument = felony

Iowa SB 1140 (2021): acts that damage, deface, alter, or destroy any publicly owned property, including a monument or statue = criminal mischief

Kansas HB 2028 (2021) makes punishment for criminal desecration by damaging, defacing, or destroying any public monument or structure more severe

Maryland SB 443 (2021): imposes criminal penalties for damaging monuments

Massachusetts SB 883 (2021): doubles fine and adds community service for damaging a war or veterans' memorial or monument

Mississippi SB 2034 (2021): creates punishment for defacing public monuments

HB 83 (2021): damaging public monument during "a violent or disorderly assembly" = felony

SB 2043 (2021): defacing a war monument = up to a year in jail + $10K fine

Missouri HB 1018 (2021): elevates classification of monument destruction from A misdemeanor to E felony

SB 66 (2021): add as institutional vandalism the knowing damage or defacement of a public monument

New Jersey A 1999 (2021): Makes desecration of a military monument a crime in the third degree

SB 620 (2021): Increases penalties for purposely desecrating a public monument

S 3261 (2020): enhances penalties for public monument destruction

New York Bill No. A04020 (2021): makes desecration of property commemorating a historical figure a class C felony

Pennsylvania SB 1321 (2020): desecration of public monuments punishable on scale based on severity of damage, to include fences and surrounding protective or decorative barriers.

Tennessee SB 1288 (2021): makes a violation of the heritage protection laws by a public official = Class C misdemeanor

Texas HB 446 (2021): increases the criminal penalty for the offense of criminal mischief involving the damage or destruction of a public monument

Virginia HB 1781 (2021): damaging a monument for war veterans or erected to mark the site of any engagement fought during the Civil War = Class 3 misdemeanor

Washington SB 5059 (2021): increases penalty for defacing a public monument from a misdemeanor to a class C felony

Wisconsin (2020): damaging a public monument = Class I felony - bill proposed by Rep. Rob Hutton, R-Brookfield, and Sen. Tim Carpenter: empowerwisconsin.org/protecting-his…

Thank you to the indefatigable @maczpriest for tracking down the details!

Here's my complementary thread on state legislatures trying to impose restrictions on official removal of monuments:

https://twitter.com/artcrimeprof/status/1365429897771048960?s=20