By Michael Lucie | KTAR
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey issued a statewide emergency declaration and announced a weeklong curfew will take effect at 8 p.m. Sunday.
In a series of tweets, the governor stated the curfew will last one week and that the decision was made in coordination with law enforcement officials.
At the request of local leaders and in coordination with state and local law enforcement, I’m issuing a statewide Declaration of Emergency, with a curfew in place starting at 8:00 p.m. tonight and effective for one week.
Curfew order exempts businesses, specific activities
By: Dillon Rosenblatt May 31, 2020
Phoenix Police stand in front of Phoenix Police Headquarters Saturday, May 30, in Phoenix, waiting for protesters marching to protest the death of George Floyd, a handcuffed back man who died in police custody with much of the arrest captured on video of a Minneapolis police officer kneeling on the neck of Floyd. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
New details of the statewide emergency and curfew plan Gov. Doug Ducey announced today does not address whether it applies to peaceful assemblies, a constitutional right.
Ducey imposed the curfew soon and promised a more aggressive approach by law enforcement to contain the protests that engulfed major cities in Arizona and elsewhere in the country following the deaths of two African-Americans at the hands of police. Some protesters in Arizona destroyed property and looted stores.
The Governor’s Office said the emergency declaration will not affect businesses, law enforcement, first responders or the media, while all others may not use, stand, sit, travel or be present on any public street or in any public place between 8 p.m. and 5 a.m. every day for one week.
Doug Ducey
Ducey is not foreclosing the possibility of extending the curfew beyond June 8.
The curfew will also not affect those who travel to and from work or attend religious services; drivers of commercial trucks and delivery services; people who obtain food; those who care for a family member, friend, or animal; people who patronize or operate private businesses; and individuals who seek medical care or flee dangerous circumstances.
Those who violate the order will face a Class 1 misdemeanor, which means up to six months in jail and a $2,500 fine. It’s not immediately clear if the order exempts the homeless.
Prominent GOP attorney Kory Langhofer said the order is narrowly-tailored and does not appear to be unconstitutional.
“This seems to make it a misdemeanor to protest between 8 p.m. and 5 a.m., but rioting is the real concern and that’s already a felony,” Langhoder said.
But the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona said the order “raises serious constitutional concerns.”
“Such actions restrict the rights of protesters and will undoubtedly lead to selective enforcement in Black and Brown communities,” the group said in a press release. “We urge the Governor and other elected officials across the state to seek a less restrictive approach and to meaningfully engage community leaders to address longstanding concerns with racist policing practices.”
Representatives from the mayor’s office in both Phoenix and Tucson said they were unaware the order and curfew were coming and that they have mere hours to prepare to implement them.
Annie DeGraw, a press aide for Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego, told the Arizona Republic, “We have not spoken to or heard from the governor on this or any other topic in a number of months.”
Nathanial Sigal, a top official for Tucson Mayor Regina Romero, said Tucson officials also had not had contact with the governor or his team about this decision.
As part of the declaration, Ducey expanded National Guard mobilization to “protect life and property throughout the state.”
On Twitter, the governor wrote that the emergency declaration gives law enforcement an “additional tool to prevent the lawlessness we’ve seen here and in cities nationwide.”
Ducey said people who are “planning to riot, loot or cause damage and unrest” are subject to arrest.
“The looting and violence we saw last night, especially in Scottsdale, simply cannot be tolerated. And it won’t be. Destruction of property does not qualify as freedom of expression,” Ducey said.
It’s unclear how law enforcers will differentiate between a plan to protest and a plan to cause damage and “unrest,” a broad term that could encompass all kinds of activities, potentially including actions protected under the First Amendment. Interpretation of Ducey’s tweet could hinge on whether “cause damage and unrest” go hand in hand – meaning people plan to both cause damage and unrest – or whether planning “unrest” alone constitutes an arrestable offense.
“Our office will continue to communicate with local law enforcement to provide whatever resources we can,” he said.
Earlier today Ducey said he won’t tolerate looting and violence, and praised law enforcers’ “more aggressive approach” to confront the protests that erupted following the deaths of two African-American men at the hands of police.
In that earlier announcement he said he would consult with city leaders on a plan to move forward and this was that plan.
“Now, more needs to be done, in more places around the state, to protect law and order and public safety. The looting and violence we saw last night, especially in Scottsdale, simply cannot be tolerated. And it won’t be,” he said earlier today. “Destruction of property does not qualify as freedom of expression.”
The protests continue amid a pandemic that has resulted in more than 900 deaths so far in Arizona. Ducey said on May 28 that he does not plan to issue another stay-at-home order for COVID-19 reasons. But this is a different situation entirely.
Curfew order exempts businesses, specific activities
By Dillon Rosenblatt Arizona Capitol Times
New details of the statewide emergency and curfew plan Gov. Doug Ducey announced today does not address whether it applies to peaceful assemblies, a constitutional right.
Ducey imposed the curfew soon and promised a more aggressive approach by law enforcement to contain the protests that engulfed major cities in Arizona and elsewhere in the country following the deaths of two African-Americans at the hands of police. Some protesters in Arizona destroyed property and looted stores.
The Governor’s Office said the emergency declaration will not affect businesses, law enforcement, first responders or the media, while all others may not use, stand, sit, travel or be present on any public street or in any public place between 8 p.m. and 5 a.m. every day for one week.
Ducey is not foreclosing the possibility of extending the curfew beyond June 8.
The curfew will also not affect those who travel to and from work or attend religious services; drivers of commercial trucks and delivery services; people who obtain food; those who care for a family member, friend, or animal; people who patronize or operate private businesses; and individuals who seek medical care or flee dangerous circumstances.
Those who violate the order will face a Class 1 misdemeanor, which means up to six months in jail and a $2,500 fine. It’s not immediately clear if the order exempts the homeless.
Prominent GOP attorney Kory Langhofer said the order is narrowly-tailored and does not appear to be unconstitutional.
“This seems to make it a misdemeanor to protest between 8 p.m. and 5 a.m., but rioting is the real concern and that’s already a felony,” Langhoder said.
But the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona said the order “raises serious constitutional concerns.”
“Such actions restrict the rights of protesters and will undoubtedly lead to selective enforcement in Black and Brown communities,” the group said in a press release. “We urge the Governor and other elected officials across the state to seek a less restrictive approach and to meaningfully engage community leaders to address longstanding concerns with racist policing practices.”
Representatives from the mayor’s office in both Phoenix and Tucson said they were unaware the order and curfew were coming and that they have mere hours to prepare to implement them.
Annie DeGraw, a press aide for Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego, told the Arizona Republic, “We have not spoken to or heard from the governor on this or any other topic in a number of months.”
Nathanial Sigal, a top official for Tucson Mayor Regina Romero, said Tucson officials also had not had contact with the governor or his team about this decision.
As part of the declaration, Ducey expanded National Guard mobilization to “protect life and property throughout the state.”
On Twitter, the governor wrote that the emergency declaration gives law enforcement an “additional tool to prevent the lawlessness we’ve seen here and in cities nationwide.”
Ducey said people who are “planning to riot, loot or cause damage and unrest” are subject to arrest.
“The looting and violence we saw last night, especially in Scottsdale, simply cannot be tolerated. And it won’t be. Destruction of property does not qualify as freedom of expression,” Ducey said.
It’s unclear how law enforcers will differentiate between a plan to protest and a plan to cause damage and “unrest,” a broad term that could encompass all kinds of activities, potentially including actions protected under the First Amendment. Interpretation of Ducey’s tweet could hinge on whether “cause damage and unrest” go hand in hand – meaning people plan to both cause damage and unrest – or whether planning “unrest” alone constitutes an arrestable offense.
“Our office will continue to communicate with local law enforcement to provide whatever resources we can,” he said.
Earlier today Ducey said he won’t tolerate looting and violence, and praised law enforcers’ “more aggressive approach” to confront the protests that erupted following the deaths of two African-American men at the hands of police.
In that earlier announcement he said he would consult with city leaders on a plan to move forward and this was that plan.
“Now, more needs to be done, in more places around the state, to protect law and order and public safety. The looting and violence we saw last night, especially in Scottsdale, simply cannot be tolerated. And it won’t be,” he said earlier today. “Destruction of property does not qualify as freedom of expression.”
The protests continue amid a pandemic that has resulted in more than 900 deaths so far in Arizona. Ducey said on May 28 that he does not plan to issue another stay-at-home order for COVID-19 reasons. But this is a different situation entirely.
