McCrory shaming incident inspires new bill to protect former governors

Sen. Dan Bishop, R-N.C., is proposing a bill to protect former governors after a Friday incident involving former Gov. Pat McCrory.

After protesters chased McCrory down an alley in Washington D.C., chanting “Shame on you!” repeatedly, Bishop called for an increase in security detail for former governors.

Bishop said the video, posted on Facebook by Udai Basavaraj, highlighted the risk that exists for these legislators.

Basavaraj said in a Facebook message that McCrory deserved what happened to him.

“McCrory deserved to be cornered and shamed in an alley,” he said. “But that was nothing compared to the way he and his posse cornered, marginalized and shamed millions of taxpayers in this state with vicious legislation and made North Carolina and its legislature the laughing stock of the nation.”

He also said that Bishop has a long history of manipulation.

“He, like Trump, is a bully, and bullies use positions of power to attack those without power,” he said. “Now that those bullies are being exposed, they want laws to protect them.”

Bishop noted that protests should not be restrained in a way that would violate the First Amendment.

“There is a line between expressive conduct that is protected by the First Amendment and assaultive conduct that’s not,” he said.

It would be appropriate for security protections to be extended to former officials, Bishop said.

“There is a criminal statute affecting sitting executive, legislative and judicial officials from assaultive conduct,” he said. “It applies to those who are in office and those who have been elected but not yet serving.”

He said when former presidents leave office, they receive lifelong security detail.

“I hope that that won’t ever be necessary for governors,” Bishop said. “But it may be appropriate for a period of time to have personal security available at the request of a former governor and conceivably other officials, I suppose.”

Rob Schofield, director of policy and research at North Carolina Policy Watch, said a potential concern is criminalizing constitutional activity.

“If the proposal is going down this other road of trying to create new crimes and criminalizing constitutionally protected activity of protestors, then that would be a real concern,” he said.

The hypothetical cost to taxpayers is another factor to consider, he said.

Bishop also addressed the cost of implementing such a bill.

“One concern that I have is affordability for the state of North Carolina,” he said. “I don’t envision anything like the extensiveness of what I perceive to be Secret Service protection for former presidents.”

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