Ohio & Kentucky’s Buffer Zone Laws
By Charlie Stauffer and Samantha Searls
As ICE has descended on cities across the country over the past year and a half, recordings of agent interactions in cities like Minneapolis, Chicago, and Los Angeles have documented the agency’s violence, allowing the public to witness not just the harm but also the laws and policies ICE is breaking. One key way we can keep ourselves and others safe in the face of rising authoritarianism and state violence is by recording interactions with police officers and other law enforcement officials, like ICE. It’s a protected right under the First Amendment to ensure transparency, accountability, and equal justice under the law. However, this constitutionally protected right is slowly being restricted through “Buffer Zone” laws, also known as “Halo Laws.”
As lawmakers across the country step in to curtail our First Amendment right, it is important for observers to assess their level of risk when recording, even though the right to record is protected. Existing laws prohibit the interference or obstruction of official business, but new bills like Ohio’s House Bill 20 and Kentucky’s Senate Bill 104 add stipulations to recording law enforcement officials that would result in misdemeanor or felony charges.
Ohio House Bill 20, under section 2921.31, will make it a crime to approach or be within 15 feet of an emergency responder, such as a police officer making an arrest or an ICE agent detaining someone. If someone is perceived to be impeding or interfering with first responders, it is a first-degree (Class A) misdemeanor charge, which is the highest level of misdemeanor. If someone is perceived to be threatening the emergency responder with physical harm, it is a fourth-degree felony. If there is a risk of physical harm to someone other than the emergency responder, then the offense is a fifth-degree felony.
Officers and emergency responders may give a warning, but even the first offense carries a significant consequence. This is different from existing Ohio law, which doesn’t define a buffer zone and only charges a misdemeanor of the second degree, no matter the situation.
Unfortunately, Ohio House Bill 20 just passed both chambers of the Ohio General Assembly on June 3 and will head to Governor DeWine’s desk to be signed into Ohio law. While emergency responders are defined as “law enforcement officers, paramedics, firefighters, and probation officers,” it is not clear if federal ICE agents present in Ohio are covered by this policy. In Kentucky, a similar law, Senate Bill 104, has already been enacted after the state legislature overrode the governor’s veto in March. Kentucky’s law increases the perimeter to 25ft, but it is only a Class B (second degree) misdemeanor for the first offense.
A glaring problem with Ohio House Bill 20 is its vague language. Vague language can be misused to target certain individuals and prevent civilians and journalists from recording or peacefully protesting, which you can read more about in this opposition testimony from ACLU Ohio. Similar bills in other states have been met with legal challenges from major media corporations and free speech activists.
As we work to protect our communities from state violence and authoritarianism, it’s important to speak out against any policy limiting our ability to document the actions of law enforcement and defend ourselves against the weaponization of emergency responders. The politicians behind these laws want to chip away at our rights behind closed doors, but the Governor needs to know we see what they’re doing.
Call Governor DeWine today at 614-466-3555 or 614-644-4357 and tell him to protect free speech by vetoing Ohio House Bill 20!