What You Need to Know About the Legal Implications of the Recent Looting In Scottsdale Fashion Square in Arizona

As everyone in the US should know by now a fair amount of peaceful protests for the Black Lives Matter movement following the death of George Floyd have taken an unfortunate turn into rioting and looting. The anger from the unjust killing of George Floyd by the Minneapolis Police department has sparked outrage in many communities and this outrage has turned into many unlawful actions such as rioting, looting, and even violence against community members and officers alike. As more protests continue across the country it is important to understand how to protest within the law and when a protest becomes unlawful as well as the legal implications of the unlawful actions, which many people have been taking during these protests.

When Did the Scottsdale Protests Turn From Lawful to Unlawful?

So that leads us to the question when exactly did the Scottsdale protest turn from lawful to unlawful? From peaceful protest to looting and rioting. Well the most important thing to note about this situation is that there are different laws governing public and private property. Specifically in Scottsdale the looting took place in the Fashion Square, which is private property. Owners of private property can even set rules for speech so if you want to have the right to protest and say as you please it is important as a protestor to try and stay on public property. Also, when you move from public to private property you will need a permit from the owner to continue protesting. If you do not have one you could be cited for trespassing. Popular youtuber Jake Paul was in Scottdale just to document the incident but because he did not have a permit he was cited for trespassing among other things. If you are attending a protest and things become unlawful police can also use a dispersal order to break up the protest. If a dispersal order is issued and you do not leave the area you will be breaking the law as well. Barricades have now been set up around the Fashion Square area to stop further protests from spilling onto private property

How the Looting at Fashion Square in Scottsdale Started and What Criminal Charges Can People Arrested Expect

The Scottsdale Fashion Square looting actually began with a social media post that calling to “take the hurt to white people.” Actually most people knew that the protests would become unlawful because of this post and Scottsdale officials said they had it under control. Well this ended up not being the case and rioters and looters ended up causing an estimated 12 million dollars in damage. The most common charge looters will face in Scottsdale is criminal damage to property which is Section 13-1602 of Arizona law. Also, as people did not only break windows and graffiti property but they also stole things from stores they also can face felony shoplifting charges which could land a shoplifter in Scottsdale up to four years in jail.

What to Do if You Were Arrested in The Scottsdale Riots or Are a Member of the Community

As a result of the riots and looting in Scottsdale the governor has now put in place a curfew starting at 8 PM and ending at 5AM. You may still peacefully protest but do not break any of the laws listed above or you may end up facing criminal charges yourself. If you are one of the people arrested while taking a stand for black lives matter whether you did or did not actually commit a crime it is especially important to contact a Scottsdale criminal defense attorney to protect yourself.