Tag: flash mobs

  • Is That Legal: International Pillow Fight Day

     

    AZ Pillow Fight by Sheila Dee

    International Pillow Fight Day is always on the first Saturday in April. Over 100 pillow fights will be taking place all over the world this year. Public pillow fights are lots of fun, but of course, there is always the question of whether they are legal.

    Doesn’t a Pillow Fight Count as Assault and Battery?
    Probably not. Most state laws regarding assault and battery require offensive touching or an imminent threat of offensive touching. Some laws require physical injury or at least intentionally touching someone with the intent to provoke or insult them. As long as you’re hitting other pillow fighters, you’re probably not committing assault and battery.

    There was an incident at a pillow fight in New York a few years ago where a woman was arrested for hitting a cop with her pillow. Don’t do that.

    Be sure to check your state laws for laws against fighting or mutual combat. It might be hiding in a catch-all law like disorderly conduct.

    What If My Pillow Explodes?
    I don’t think pillows explode. I think people cut their pillows so the feathers fly everywhere.

    Regardless of the cause of your pillow’s explosion, clean it up. There are laws against littering. If the feathers from your pillow cause any damage, you might be responsible for that too. There was a pillow fight on a rainy Valentine’s Day in San Francisco in 2009. Wet feathers clogged drains and caused ~$20,000 in damage due to flooding and clean-up costs.

    Where’s a Good Place to Hold a Public Pillow Fight?
    If I were to organize a public pillow fight, I’d look for a big public park. If you’re not on private property (like a mall), it’s harder to be arrested for trespassing. I’d pick a place that does not interfering with other’s enjoyment of the park and wouldn’t block any sidewalks or thoroughfares.

    What If the Cops Find Out about the Pillow Fight – Can They Stop It Before It Happens?
    I don’t think so, but that doesn’t mean they won’t try. In 2009, the Detroit police confiscated pillows at a park before the fight was scheduled to occur. Carrying a pillow in public is not illegal, so I don’t think the cops had the authority to prevent the fight was happening. I think the better course of action was to warn people about what laws they might break if they strike someone with their pillows and to warn them that they would be cited or arrested if they broke any laws.

    The laws that apply to public pillow fights are mainly state criminal laws so be sure to consult your state’s statutes before having a pillow fight. When in doubt, consult an attorney who specializes in flash mob law.

  • Flash Mobs Are Not Crimes

    Improv AZ Apple Mob by Devon Christopher Adams
    Improv AZ Apple Mob by Devon Christopher Adams

    This post was originally published on The Undeniable Ruth in August 2011. 

    It appears the term “flash mob” is being used inappropriately and its meaning is being overly broadened to include any group activity that is coordinated using social media. This year, there have been several robberies and assaults perpetrated by a group of people that appear (at least on the surface) to have been orchestrated via social media sites. The media has called them “flash mob crimes.” They make it sound like someone created a Facebook event that said, “Meet at Broadway and Main at 10pm. At exactly 10:03, we’re all going to run into the minimart, grab whatever we want, and run out.” That’s not a flash mob. That’s solicitation and possibly conspiracy. If the event actually occurs, it’s larceny and perhaps inciting a riot.

    flash mob is defined as “a group of people who assemble suddenly in a public place, perform an unusual and sometimes seemingly pointless act for a brief time, then disperse, often for the purposes of entertainment and/or satire.” Flash mobs have been occurring at least since the 1970’s. In recent years, they have been orchestrated via email and social media websites; however, that does not mean that every public group activity that is coordinated via social media is a flash mob.

    Where's Waldo Flash Mob by Jeff Moriarty
    Where's Waldo Flash Mob by Jeff Moriarty

    Flash mobs are generally light-hearted innocuous fun.  People who participate in flash mobs ride public transportation without their pants; they welcome back strangers at the airport; they have fake battles between heroes and villains; and they stand frozen in place for short periods of time. Some protests and promotional events are referred to as “flash mobs,” but technically they’re not. And any event that has a criminal intent is definitely not a flash mob.

    I give the media some leeway when it comes to coining terms; however, I was deeply disturbed when I saw a legal website refer to flash mobs as including criminal behavior. It suggests the writer did not do their research on this topic.

    I love flash mobs. I have been participating in them and organizing them since 2009. When Improv AZ organizes a flash mob, we do thorough research on the potential legal implications of our event. I have attended an event with pages of statutes in my back pocket to ensure that we’re acting within the confines of the law. We are diligent to inform our participants in advance of their do’s and don’ts. We may push the envelope, but we never intend to cross the line. Most of our encounters with police involve them smiling or laughing at us. At the 2010 No Pants Ride after party, a Tempe police car stopped near us and an officer yelled out, “We had a briefing about you!” And then he went about his merry way, knowing we were harmless. A bit odd and rather goofy, but harmless.

    Flash mobs are harmless, playful, and unexpected events. They are not criminal acts by design. Flash mobs and crimes are two completely different phenomena.  They do not exist on the same continuum.

    In other news, the flash mob community needs to send a big “thank you” to Mayor Jackson and the city of Cleveland. Mayor Jackson recently vetoed a proposed law that would have made it illegal to use social media to coordinate a flash mob.  Thank you for protecting our First Amendment rights!