(a) A person is guilty of riot, a felony of the third degree, if he participates with four (4) or more others in a course of disorderly conduct: (1) with intent to commit or facilitate the commission of a felony or misdemeanor; (2) with intent to prevent or coerce official action; or (3) when he or any other participant to his knowledge uses or plans to use a firearm or other deadly weapon. (b) Where four (4) or more persons are participating in a course of disorderly conduct likely to cause substantial harm or serious inconvenience, annoyance or alarm, a peace officer or other public servant engaged in executing or enforcing the law
may order the participants and others in the immediate vicinity to disperse. A person who refuses or knowingly fails to obey such an order commits a misdemeanor. SOURCE: G.P.C. §§ 404, 405, 409, 416, See also §§ 406, 408; *M.P.C. § 250.1; Cal. §§ 260, 1205, 1215 (1971); Mass. ch. 269, §§ 1, 2; N.J. § 2C:33-1, 2C:33-2. CROSS-REFERENCES: cf. § 404, Penal Code. COMMENT: The offense of Adisorderly conduct@ (§ 61.15) reaches the violent, tumultuous, noisy and dangerous aspects of either individual or group behavior. However, a distinct riot offense is justified: (1) to provide aggravated penalties for disorderly conduct where the number of participants makes the behavior especially alarming; (2) to provide penal sanctions for disobeying police orders directing a disorderly mob to disperse; and (3) to subject to police orders persons present but not shown to be implicated in the disorderly behavior - a kind of Aexpanded complicity,@ necessitated by the fact that police cannot be expected to distinguish participants from non-participants intermingled in a mob. Defining riot as an aggravation of disorderly conduct prevents application of riot penalties to peaceful joint behavior of which the police may disapprove on the ground that it tends to provoke others to violent reactions, or even to assemblies to commit offenses unattended by circumstances of disorder. Thus, this Section does not reach all of what was formerly defined as Aunlawful assembly.@