RIOT. A riot is a misdemeanor at common law ; and is defined by Hawkins to be " a tumultuous disturbance of the peace by three persons or more, assembling together of their own authority, with an intent mutually to assist one another against any one who shall oppose them in the execution of some enterprise of a private nature, and afterwards executing the tame in a violent and turbulent manner, to the terror of the people, whether the act intended were of itself lawful or unlawful." The assembling together therefore in a case where the law authorioes parties to meet and use force in concert, as for the purpose of suppressing rebellion or opposing the king's enemies, or as Fort of the posse comitatus, will not constitute a riot. Neither will a widen quarrel occurring among a number of persons who have met together at a fair, or on similar occasions, constitute a riot. But if on the occasion of a meeting, lawful in itself, some act of violence in dis turbaneeld the peace is afterwards proposed, and executed in concert by those who are aseembled, they will be guilty of a riot. The cuter prise must he of a private nature, not necessarily relating to an individual, but atilt having in view some minor and special, and not a general public object.. The object may be, for instance, to redress a grievance said to be suffered by some particular person, or to pull down inclosures on Londe where the inhabitants claim a right of common. For if the enterprise be for the purpose of redressing grievances throughout tile kingdom, or pulling down all inelosurcs, the offence is not riot, but amounts to a levying of war against the crown, and becomes high treason.
Violence, if not of actual force, yet in gesture or language, and of inch a nature as to cause terror, is a necessary ingredient in the offence of riot. The lawfulness of the enterprise operates no further titan as justifying a mitigation of the punishment. It does not in any way alter the legal character of the offence.
Two minor offence' of rout and unlawful assembly, which are similar to riot, are generally treated of under that head.
A rota is where parties have commenced but not accomplished an enterprise, and in such a way that if the enterprise had been executed, they would have committed a riot.
It is an unlawful assembly when great numbers of people meet together with such circumstances of behaviour as to raise the fears of their fellow-subjects, and endanger the public peace. An assembly therefore of a man's friends to defend his person against violence threatened to him if be appear in a public place is unlawful, as such conduct tends to produce a breach of the peace. lint an assembly in a man's own house to protect !din while there, or to defend the posses sion of it, is not considered an unlawful assembly. At common law the sheriff and all peace officers are bound themselves to make every effort and to command all others to assiet them to suppress a riot. It
seem. also that where the emergency is great and immediate, private persons on their own authority may act, and even use arms for the seine pnrporte. On such occasions it has not been usual for the military to take any part except in the presence and under the direc tion of a civil authority. They are not however by law disqualified for any duty or relieved from any responsibility which under the same circumstances attaches to other classes of their fellow-subjecte.
Various acts of parliament have been passed for the purpose of giving atuhority to magistrates and others in suppressing riots, and restraining, arresting, anti punishing rioters. The most important is I Geo. I., st. ii . e. 5, commonly called the Riot Act, which provides — • • - -- — that "if any persons to the number of twelve or more, being unlaw fully, riotously, and tumultuously assembled together to the dis turbance of the public peace, shall continue so assembled for the space of an hour after the magistrate has commanded them by proclama tion to disperse, they shall be considered felons." The form of proclamation is given in the Act, and is to be road with a loud voice and as near as possible to the rioters. Persons who do not disperse may be seized and apprehended by any magietrate or peaco.otticer or any private person who has been commanded by a magistrate or an officer to assist. In case of resistance, those who are attempting to disperse or apprehend the rioters will be justified in wounding or killing them. It is felony to oppose the reading of the proclamation ; and if the reading should be prevented, those who do not disperse are still guilty of felony, if they know that the reading of the proclamation has been prevented.
A prosecution under this Act must be commenced within a year after the offence has been committed. By 7 & 8 Geo. 1V., c. 30, a. 8, rioters who demolish or begin to demolish a church or a chapel, a dwelling-house, or any other of the various buildings or machinery mentioned in that Act, are to be considered felons, and by 7 & 8 Geo. IV. e. 31, provision is made for remedies against the hundred in such eases, if to the amount of 301.; but if the damage does not amount to 301., before justices at a petty sessions.
The action must be commenced within three months after commis sion of the offence ; and to entitle the party injured to bring it, he must, within seven days after tho injury done, go before a magistrate and give on oath all the information relative to the matter which he possesses, and also be bound over to prosecute the offenders.
With respect to unlawful assemblies of a seditious character, sec SEDITION ; TREASON.