State Rep. Allen Treadaway (R-Morris) said he plans to introduce an “anti-riot” bill this Congress.

In 2022, Treadaway tried to pass a bill that would require mandatory prison sentences for people arrested under the new definition of rioting, but the bill failed to pass the state Senate.

The bill would redefine rioting as “a group of five or more people engaging in conduct that creates and/or results in an imminent risk of property damage or personal injury.”

Treadaway discussed the need to pass similar legislation during a recent appearance on Alabama Public Television's “Capitol Journal.”

“I believed it was necessary then, and I believe it even more now given what we're seeing in this country,” Treadaway said. “This bill passed the House for the second year in a row, because last year we didn't have it. We're starting to see protests like this at colleges and parades, and law enforcement is taking steps to keep the public and ourselves safe. I think we need to bring this back because we have to have additional tools for this.”

The lawmaker said he would like to make some changes to the way the bill is written before introducing it this year.

“I'm looking at it and trying to address some of the points in the bill,” he said. “There were some concerns on both sides of the aisle. And hopefully we can come up with something that can provide tools to law enforcement, so that's something we can probably look forward to later in this session.”

RELATED: Anti-riot bill to strengthen crimes against first responders passes Alabama House of Representatives (2022)

Treadaway cited some critics of the bill who say it would disrupt peaceful protests and violate free speech rights.

“If you look at this bill, it would only be triggered if there was looting of stores, arson, or assault on public safety or other people at the scene,” he explained. “That's the only time it's going to start. So there's no peaceful part. But emotions are running high and we're going to bring the bill again and address those areas and try to define them. Because what we're trying to do is protect the public and public safety here.”

He also encouraged his colleagues to actually read the bill before objecting.

“And if I read the bill completely and I say to people, I am opposed to the bill because of what they have heard, but if they read the bill and come back to me, I don't think there is anything wrong with the bill. No,” he said. “So we're not talking about peaceful protests, we're talking about people who are breaking the law and putting their lives at risk before this bill takes effect.”

Yaffee is a contributor to Yellowhammer News and hosts “The Yaffee Program” weekdays from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. WVNN. You can follow him on Twitter @Yaffee