Support the Crowd Panic Prevention  and Incident Transparency Act (Abby Law)

Every family should be able to attend a festival, parade, concert, or community celebration without fearing that intentional acts of panic will turn a joyful event into a tragedy.

On June 6, 2026, during the Downtown Days Festival in Lee's Summit, Missouri, my friend Abby was seriously injured after being shoved to the ground during a crowd panic incident. What should have been a safe community event became a traumatic experience for many attendees. Abby's injury serves as a reminder that when panic spreads through a crowd, innocent people can be hurt in seconds.

Unfortunately, similar crowd panic incidents have occurred in communities across the United States. Whether triggered by false threats, unlawful use of chemical irritants, or other intentional acts that create fear and confusion, the consequences can include trampling, serious injuries, overwhelmed first responders, and lasting trauma for victims and their families.

The proposed Crowd Panic Prevention and Incident Transparency Act (Abby Law) seeks to strengthen public safety by:

Holding individuals accountable for intentionally creating dangerous crowd panic.
Supporting law enforcement with clear tools to investigate and respond to these incidents.
Improving public notification when significant injuries occur so witnesses can come forward with information.
Protecting constitutional rights by focusing on intentional harmful conduct—not peaceful protest, free speech, or lawful assembly.
This is not about politics. It is about protecting people.

Prohibited Conduct

A person commits an offense under Abby Law when they knowingly and intentionally:

A. Crowd Panic Through Chemical Agents

Deploy pepper spray, bear spray, tear gas, or similar chemical irritants into a crowd or public gathering without lawful justification when such conduct creates a substantial risk of panic, injury, evacuation, or crowd disorder.

B. False Emergency Threats

Knowingly communicate a false report of an active shooter, explosive device, mass-casualty event, or other imminent threat with the intent to cause public alarm, evacuation, panic, or emergency response activation.

C. Intentional Panic-Inducing Conduct

Engage in conduct intended to provoke mass panic, stampede conditions, crowd surges, or dangerous public disorder through unlawful threats or actions that place others in immediate fear of serious physical harm.

Constitutional Safeguards

Nothing in Abby Law shall be construed to prohibit:

* Protected speech under the United States Constitution or Missouri Constitution.
* Peaceful protest activity.
* Lawful assembly.
* Journalism or recording of events in public spaces.
* Good-faith emergency reporting.
* Lawful self-defense.
* Law enforcement activities performed within the scope of official duties.

The law shall regulate conduct, not protected expression.

Public Notification and Incident Transparency

When a significant public disturbance, riot, crowd panic event, mass-disorder incident, or comparable public safety event occurs, the responsible law enforcement agency shall make reasonable efforts to provide timely public information updates consistent with victim privacy protections and investigative needs.

When injuries associated with such incidents are reported during the event or become known after the event, the agency should provide public notice that may include:

* Confirmation that injuries have been reported or verified.
* A general description of the incident.
* Requests for witnesses, photographs, videos, or other evidence.
* Information regarding how members of the public may submit tips.
* Updates regarding arrests, suspect identification, or charges when appropriate.

Nothing in this section shall require disclosure of protected medical information, confidential investigative information, or personally identifying victim information without consent.

Investigation Support Measures

Law enforcement agencies are encouraged to:

* Establish public tip portals following major crowd incidents.
* Utilize public information campaigns to seek witness cooperation.
* Coordinate with event organizers regarding evidence collection.
* Provide periodic public updates when doing so would not compromise an active investigation.

Expected Benefits

* Safer public events and community gatherings.
* Stronger deterrence against intentional panic creation.
* Improved identification and apprehension of offenders.
* Increased public confidence in public safety communications.
* Enhanced cooperation between citizens and law enforcement.
* Better protection of families, businesses, event attendees, and first responders.

Abby Law seeks to address a growing public safety concern by focusing on intentional conduct that creates dangerous crowd conditions while simultaneously improving transparency when injuries occur during major public incidents. By balancing public safety, constitutional protections, and public accountability, the proposal aims to help Missouri communities maintain safe, welcoming, and secure public gatherings for all citizens.

We owe it to every child, parent, grandparent, first responder, volunteer, and community member to make our public events safer. By supporting the Crowd Panic Prevention and Incident Transparency Act (Abby Law), you are supporting a thoughtful, victim-focused effort to prevent future injuries, improve transparency, and strengthen public safety.

Please sign this petition and help us encourage Missouri and Federal lawmakers to consider this proposal. Together, we can work toward safer public gatherings and ensure that what happened to Abby—and to so many others across the country—does not happen again.