| Chapter 293 |
| 2025 -- H 5300 SUBSTITUTE A Enacted 06/26/2025 |
| A N A C T |
| RELATING TO CRIMINAL OFFENSES -- THREATS AND EXTORTION |
Introduced By: Representatives Dawson, Shanley, Kazarian, Furtado, and Boylan |
| Date Introduced: February 05, 2025 |
| It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: |
| SECTION 1. Section 11-42-4 of the General Laws in Chapter 11-42 entitled "Threats and |
| Extortion" is hereby amended to read as follows: |
| 11-42-4. Threats to public officials. |
| (a) Whoever knowingly and willfully delivers or conveys, directly or indirectly, a verbal |
| or written threat to take the life of, or to inflict bodily harm upon, a public official or a member of |
| his or hera public official’s immediate family because of the performance or nonperformance of |
| some public duty; because of hostility of the person making the threat toward the status or position |
| of the public official; or because of some other factor related to the official’s public existence, shall |
| be guilty of a felony and shall be imprisoned for not more than five (5) years, or fined not more |
| than five thousand dollars ($5,000), or both. |
| (b) Whoever knowingly and willfully delivers or conveys, directly or indirectly, a verbal |
| or written threat to take the life of, or to inflict bodily harm upon, any election official, or a member |
| of his or herthe election official’s immediate family because of the performance or |
| nonperformance of their public duty; because of hostility of the person making the threat toward |
| the status or position of the election official; or because of some other factor related to the election |
| official’s public existence, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be imprisoned for not more |
| than one year, or fined not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000), or both. |
| (b)(c) For purposes of this section: |
| (1) “Public official” means a person who is elected or appointed to office in accordance |
| with the constitution, a statute, or a city or town charter, or who is a judge, magistrate, assistant |
| attorney general, special assistant attorney general, or law enforcement officer, or in the case of an |
| elective office, any person who has filed the required documents for nomination or election to that |
| office or who is appointed by the governor to serve as the director or his or herthe director’s |
| designee of a state department that is established and the qualifications and duties of which are |
| prescribed by statute to discharge a public duty for the state of Rhode Island; |
| (2) “Election official” means a person who is appointed, hired, or assigned to any polling |
| place and includes, but is not limited to, any poll worker, election worker, warden, moderator, clerk, |
| and any member of the board of canvassers, in accordance with any statute, town charter, or |
| ordinance and whose qualifications and duties are prescribed by statute, town charter, or ordinance; |
| (2)(3) “Immediate family” means a public official’s spouse, child, or children. |
| SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage. |
| ======== |
| LC001107/SUB A |
| ======== |