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H 7552Violent Crime Penalties

Criminal Offenses - Threats and Extortion

This bill criminalizes threats of harm against school employees, election workers, and political candidates.

Held for study
Population
Affected
28
Email Legislator
Introduced Feb 6, 2026Committee House Judiciary

Plain-English Summary

This legislation expands the definition of "public official" in existing law regarding threats and extortion. It adds school superintendents, principals, all school employees, political candidates, and state department directors to the list of protected officials. Making a threat of death or bodily harm against these individuals is a felony. Additionally, the bill creates a specific protection for "election officials" (such as poll workers and wardens), making threats against them a misdemeanor. Notably, for threats against school employees, the accused must be 18 years or older to be charged under this specific statute.

For younger readers

There are laws that say you cannot scare people who work for the government, like judges, by saying you will hurt them. This new rule adds more people to that list. Now, it is also against the law to scare school workers (like teachers and principals), people helping with voting, or people running for office. If someone threatens these people, they can get in trouble with the police. However, if a student scares a teacher, this specific law only applies if the student is a grown-up (18 years or older).

Who & Where It Applies

Impacted groups
School employees (teachers, principals, superintendents)Election officials (poll workers, wardens, clerks)Political candidatesState department directorsVoters and general public
Impacted communities
All

Constitutional & Fiscal Check

Moderate risk

There is a low to moderate risk regarding Free Speech. While "true threats" are not protected by the First Amendment, legislation criminalizing speech based on "hostility" toward a public official's status must be carefully tailored. If the law is applied to hyperbole or political venting that does not constitute a genuine threat of bodily harm, it could face constitutional challenges. However, the requirement that the threat be "to take the life" or "inflict bodily harm" likely satisfies strict scrutiny.

Estimated cost
Amount unknown
Estimated revenue
Amount unknown

Bill Analysis

Both viewpoints
For Progressives
  • Protects the integrity of the democratic process by establishing specific legal protections for election workers and poll watchers, who are essential for fair elections.
  • Enhances safety for public educators and school staff, potentially helping to retain workers in the vital public education sector.
  • Includes a specific provision that prevents minors (under 18) from being charged under this statute for incidents in schools, helping to mitigate the "school-to-prison pipeline" for children.
  • Relies on increased criminalization and incarceration (felonies) to address conflict, rather than focusing on de-escalation or restorative justice measures.
  • The broad definition of "hostility... toward the status" of an official could potentially be used to suppress legitimate protest or expressions of grievances against public figures.
  • Expands the "special class" of citizens who receive higher legal protections than the general public, which some may view as reinforcing hierarchical power structures.
For Conservatives
  • Strengthens the rule of law by deterring intimidation tactics against government employees and elected officials.
  • Protects the sanctity of elections by ensuring that poll workers and election officials can perform their duties without fear of physical retaliation.
  • Ensures that adults who threaten school personnel face serious legal consequences, promoting order and discipline within educational institutions.
  • Creates a two-tiered justice system where threatening a government employee carries a stiffer penalty than threatening a private citizen or business owner.
  • Potential to infringe on First Amendment rights, as heated political rhetoric or expressions of frustration against officials could be misinterpreted as criminal threats.
  • Expands the size and scope of government power by increasing the number of people classified as "public officials" protected by special statutes.

Votes

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Full Bill Text

Changes to existing Rhode Island law · 7 additions

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 a 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 their 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.

(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 schools, a school superintendent, central office official, school principal, and all other school employees 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 their 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;

(3) “Immediate family” means a public official’s spouse, child, or children.

(4) In the case of schools, a school superintendent, central office official, school principal, and all other school employees, a suspect shall be charged under this section only if the suspect is eighteen (18) years of age or older or is otherwise considered a legal adult.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.