UCMJ Article 116: Riot or Breach of Peace
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Article 116 punishes anyone who “causes or participates in any riot or breach of the peace.” A riot needs at least three people acting together in a violent or turbulent way that terrorizes the public; a breach of the peace can be committed by one person through a violent or turbulent act. Riot carries up to a dishonorable discharge and 10 years. Breach of the peace carries up to 6 months.
One sentence covers both offenses
10 U.S.C. § 916 is a single sentence: “Any person subject to this chapter who causes or participates in any riot or breach of the peace shall be punished as a court-martial may direct.” The Manual for Courts-Martial (2024 ed.), Part IV, ¶ 54, supplies the definitions.
Riot: elements
Under ¶ 54.b(1), the government must prove:
- the accused was a member of an assembly of three or more persons;
- the accused and at least two other members “mutually intended to assist one another against anyone who might oppose them in doing an act for some private purpose”;
- the group or some of its members, in furtherance of that purpose, unlawfully committed a tumultuous disturbance of the peace in a violent or turbulent manner; and
- the acts terrorized the public, in that they caused or were intended to cause public alarm or terror.
Terror is the core of a riot
“The gravamen of the offense of riot is terrorization of the public” (¶ 54.c(1)). Two other points from the same paragraph:
- “It is immaterial whether the act intended was lawful.” A group pursuing a lawful goal by violent and terrorizing means can still riot.
- The common purpose need not exist before the group gathers. “It is sufficient if the assembly begins to execute in a tumultuous manner a common purpose formed after it assembled.”
Breach of the peace: one person is enough
A breach of the peace is “an unlawful disturbance of the peace by an outward demonstration of a violent or turbulent nature” (¶ 54.c(2)). The government must prove that the accused caused or participated in a violent or turbulent act and that the peace was thereby unlawfully disturbed (¶ 54.b(2)).
The Manual’s examples include engaging in an affray, unlawfully discharging firearms in a public street, and loud speech and unruly conduct. A speaker can also be guilty of causing a breach of the peace by using language that “can reasonably be expected to produce a violent or turbulent response” when a breach of the peace results.
Three arguments do not work: the words were true, the words were used under provocation, or others incited the tumultuous conduct. None is a defense.
A ship or a barracks is a “community”
The peace protected is that of the community and the public, and both “include a military organization, post, camp, ship, aircraft, or station” (¶ 54.c(3)). A disturbance aboard a ship or on a post disturbs the “community” for this article.
10 years for riot, 6 months for breach of the peace
From ¶ 54.d:
| Offense | Maximum |
|---|---|
| Riot | Dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, 10 years |
| Breach of the peace | 6 months; forfeiture of two-thirds pay per month for 6 months |
Collective resistance to authority is a different article
When the aim is “to usurp or override lawful military authority” and the accused, in concert with another person, refuses to obey orders or creates violence or disturbance, the offense is mutiny under Article 94, which carries death or such other punishment as a court-martial may direct (10 U.S.C. § 894). Words aimed at starting a fight, short of an actual disturbance, can be provoking speech under Article 117. Violence against a particular person within a disturbance can also be charged as assault under Article 128.
Sources
- 10 U.S.C. § 916, Article 116, Riot or breach of peace (Cornell LII)
- 10 U.S.C. § 894, Article 94, Mutiny or sedition (Cornell LII)
- Manual for Courts-Martial, United States (2024 ed.), Part IV, ¶ 54
General information about military law, not legal advice for any individual case.