Riot Act

The Riot Act is a historical Act of the Parliament of Great Britain passed in 1714 (1 Geo. I st. 2 c. 5). Its full title is "An Act for preventing tumults and riotous assemblies, and for the more speedy and effectual punishing the rioters." It prescribed that if twelve or more people were unlawfully assembled to disturb the public peace and refused to disperse within one hour after being ordered to do so by a designated official (such as a justice of the peace, sheriff, or mayor) reading a specified proclamation, then they would be guilty of a felony without benefit of clergy, punishable by death.

The proclamation to be read was: "Our sovereign Lord the King chargeth and commandeth all persons being assembled immediately to disperse themselves, and peaceably to depart to their habitations, or to their lawful business, upon the pains contained in the act made in the first year of King George, for preventing tumults and riotous assemblies. God save the King."

The purpose of the Riot Act was to suppress unlawful and tumultuous assemblies. It was enacted in response to a period of social unrest and political instability. Although the Riot Act was amended and later repealed in England and Wales by the Criminal Law Act 1967, the phrase "reading the Riot Act" has entered the English language as a metaphor for issuing a stern warning that unless misbehavior ceases, punishment will follow. Figuratively, it signifies a forceful and authoritative rebuke or ultimatum. The Act has also been adapted and adopted in various forms in other countries throughout history.