Sec. 1. 17-A MRSA §210, sub-§1-A is enacted to read:

1-A.__A person is guilty of environmental terrorizing if that person communicates to another person a threat to commit or cause to be committed a crime of violence dangerous to human life or destructive to property or business practices, for the primary purpose of expressing a perspective on an environmental or natural resource issue against a person or business and the natural and probable consequence of such a threat is:

A.__To place the person or business to whom the threat is communicated or the person threatened in reasonable fear that the crime will be committed;

B.__To cause injury in fact to persons or damage to property or business; or

C.__To cause an interruption in business that results in loss of revenues or compensable damages.

Sec. 2. 17-A MRSA §210, sub-§2, as repealed and replaced by PL 1977, c. 510, §45, is amended to read:

2. Violation of subsection 1, paragraph A, is a Class D crime. Violation of subsection 1, paragraph B, or subsection 1-A is a Class C crime.

SUMMARY

This bill establishes the crime of environmental terrorizing, which is the destruction of property or the interference with a place of business's normal course of business by individuals or groups for the primary purpose of making a political statement on natural resource and environmental issues. Environmental terrorizing is a Class C crime.