Idaho committee backs making physical injury during riots a felony; debate centers on scope

House Judiciary, Rules and Administration Committee members voted to send House Bill 125 to the floor with a due-pass recommendation after a lengthy discussion about whether Idaho’s riot statute should include physical injury as a felony element.

The bill’s sponsor, Representative Jaren Crane, introduced the measure as “a simple clean up of current statutes,” saying Title 18, Chapter 64 assigns felony penalties for property damage but currently lacks a felony provision for physical injury in the same section. Crane turned much of the hearing over to Detective Corporal Matthew Richardson of the Nampa Police Department to explain how the change would be used.

“Once I started utilizing it, I noticed that the part of, some sort of punishment for physical injury was missing in the code,” Detective Richardson told the committee. He described situations where large fights —…