A recently pre-filed bill in the Alabama Senate would make it a Class C felony to injure a public official. Sen. Chris Elliott’s Senate Bill 20 expands the definition of assault in the second degree to include “injury to a current or former local, state, or federal public official during or as a result of the performance of the current or former official’s duty…” Without the proposed specification, such an assault is now a misdemeanor. Elliott, R-Josephine, said the proposed change is meant to be a deterrent. “We know that (public officials are) just doing a job and attacking them for just doing their job and making tough decisions is not acceptable,” he told Alabama Daily News. “They’re just trying to do the job and serve the public and should not be targets for anger or whateve

See Full Page