When Harassment of Bicyclists and Pedestrians Is a Crime

The Kansas City ordinance was carefully designed to avoid potential challenges based on the right to free speech under the First Amendment. It prohibits certain actions aimed at “intimidating or injuring” people on bikes, on foot, and in wheelchairs. Explicitly listed among those actions are throwing objects or swerving a vehicle toward such a person, threatening, and “[placing] such person in apprehension of immediate physical injury.” Penalties could include fines up to $500 and as much as six months in jail. Read more.