Senate Bill 5843 isn’t moving forward. It died in the Senate. SB 5843 would have created a gross misdemeanor penalty for elected officials or candidates who knowingly, recklessly or maliciously lie about results on an election if those falsehoods led to violence. The concept of the bill arose after the January 6th insurrection at the US Capitol. One of the key issues with the proposal was whether it violated constitutional protections, i.e. the First Amendment, by criminalizing speech.
It is possible that SB 5843 is revived at a later date; it just isn’t moving forward this year. In short, the bill didn’t have sufficient support to move on. That said, it will be interesting to see if the bill again gains traction in future years, as these days there always seems to be concerns about violence related to political shenanigans.
Whether arrested, cited, booked and/or charged for a crime, you should always immediately contact a Criminal lawyer. A criminal attorney is not going to judge you, and understands that everyone makes mistakes. Hiring a Criminal Lawyer to help you can – at a minimum – reduce penalties, and can help direct you on how to best deal with your criminal charge, and many times even get them dismissed. So it should go without saying that if you are arrested, cited, booked or charged for a misdemeanor or felony you should hire a qualified Criminal Lawyer as soon as possible. Criminal charges can cause havoc on a person’s personal and professional life. Anyone charged with a crime in Washington State should immediately seek the assistance of a seasoned Criminal Lawyer – like the attorneys at SQ Attorneys – (206) 441-0900.
