<p class=ldtitle>A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding in Article 1 of Chapter 5 of Title 18.2 a section numbered 18.2-138.1, relating to approaching a first responder with specified intent after a warning; penalty.</p>
HB1453 creates a new criminal offense for approaching or remaining within 25 feet of a first responder after receiving a verbal warning not to approach, when the person does so knowingly and willfully with the specific intent to impede the responder’s duties, threaten physical harm, or harass the responder. The bill defines “first responder” to include law-enforcement officers, firefighters, emergency medical services personnel, and probation and parole officers, and it defines “harass” in a way that requires intentional conduct causing substantial emotional distress and serving no legitimate purpose.
The bill also carves out several exceptions. It does not prohibit observation, photography, or audio/video recording from 25 feet or more, and it allows recording from any distance so long as the person does not violate the no-approach warning. It further exempts the subject of the official action or that person’s lawful representative, people rendering emergency assistance, members of the news media engaged in newsgathering, and it preserves a first responder’s authority to establish a perimeter at an emergency scene. Violations are punishable as a Class 4 misdemeanor for a first offense and a Class 2 misdemeanor for repeat offenses, and the bill states that other criminal statutes, including obstruction-related laws, may still apply.
If enacted, HB1453 would add a new section to Title 18.2 of the Code of Virginia and expand the state’s criminal law governing conduct around first responders. It would create a specific misdemeanor offense tied to ignoring a verbal warning and approaching within a defined distance with prohibited intent, while also preserving existing authority under other laws and not displacing prosecutions under obstruction statutes or other applicable provisions. The bill would directly affect members of the public interacting with police, firefighters, EMS personnel, and probation and parole officers at active scenes.
Based on the bill text and its procedural history, the measure appears to have been introduced as a public-safety and responder-protection bill, but it did not advance out of the House Public Safety Committee and was left in committee. There are no recorded votes or committee transcripts provided, so there is no documented floor debate or formal recorded support/opposition in the materials supplied. The structure of the bill suggests an attempt to balance responder safety with protections for recording, media activity, and lawful observation.
The likely points of contention are the scope of the 25-foot restriction, the use of a verbal warning as the trigger for criminal liability, and the breadth of the intent standards for impeding, threatening, or harassing a first responder. Critics could view the measure as potentially chilling lawful observation, recording, or protest activity near emergency scenes, while supporters would likely argue it is narrowly tailored because it requires a warning, specific intent, and includes explicit exceptions for media, bystanders, subjects of police action, and people rendering aid. The absence of committee discussion in the record means these concerns are inferred from the bill’s design rather than from stated testimony.