UCMJ Article 116 Riot vs Article 117 Provoking Speeches: Group Violence vs Inciting Words
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Group violence against inciting words is not a clean split: Article 116 also reaches a single speaker. Article 116 punishes causing or participating in a riot or a breach of the peace, and a speaker whose language can reasonably be expected to provoke a violent response commits a breach of the peace if one results. Article 117 punishes provoking or reproachful words or gestures toward another person subject to the UCMJ, whether or not any violence follows.
The statutory text
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.
Source: 10 U.S.C. § 916 (Article 116).
Any person subject to this chapter who uses provoking or reproachful words or gestures towards any other person subject to this chapter shall be punished as a court-martial may direct.
Source: 10 U.S.C. § 917 (Article 117).
Riot
The Manual for Courts-Martial lists four elements (MCM, Part IV, ¶ 54.b(1)):
- the accused was a member of an assembly of three or more persons;
- the accused and at least two others 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, furthering that purpose, unlawfully committed a tumultuous disturbance of the peace in a violent or turbulent manner; and
- these acts terrorized the public, in that they caused or were intended to cause public alarm or terror.
“The gravamen of the offense of riot is terrorization of the public” (¶ 54.c(1)). Whether the intended act was itself lawful does not matter, and the common purpose need not exist before the group gathers; it is enough that the assembly begins to carry out, in a tumultuous manner, a purpose formed after it assembled.
Breach of the peace
A breach of the peace needs no group. Its elements are that the accused caused or participated in an act of a violent or turbulent nature, 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 (¶ 54.c(2)).
Speech alone can be the cause. A speaker “may also be guilty of causing a breach of the peace if the speaker uses language which can reasonably be expected to produce a violent or turbulent response and a breach of the peace results.” The truth of the words, or provocation, is no defense, and tumultuous conduct is not excused because others incited it.
“Community” and “public” include a military organization, post, camp, ship, aircraft, or station (¶ 54.c(3)), so the disturbed “public” can be the population of an installation or a ship.
Provoking speeches or gestures
Article 117 has three elements: the accused wrongfully used words or gestures toward a certain person, the words or gestures were provoking or reproachful, and that person was subject to the UCMJ (¶ 55.b). The Manual explains the key terms (¶ 55.c):
- Presence and effect. Provoking and reproachful words or gestures are those “used in the presence of the person to whom they are directed and which a reasonable person would expect to induce a breach of the peace under the circumstances.”
- Proper correction excluded. They do not include “reprimands, censures, reproofs and the like which may properly be administered in the interests of training, efficiency, or discipline.”
- Status knowledge not required. The accused need not know that the target is subject to the UCMJ.
No breach of the peace has to occur. The test is what a reasonable person would expect the words to cause.
Where words cross from Article 117 to Article 116
| Provoking words (Article 117) | Breach of the peace by a speaker (Article 116) | Riot (Article 116) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| People needed to commit it | One | One | Three or more, with mutual intent to assist |
| Target | A person subject to the UCMJ, in that person's presence | No particular person named in the elements | The public |
| Must violence or disturbance occur | No | Yes, a breach must result | Yes, a tumultuous disturbance that terrorizes the public |
For example, a service member who shouts insults at another in a dining facility, in terms a reasonable person would expect to start a fight, fits Article 117 even if the other person walks away. If the insults set off a brawl, the speaker may also have caused a breach of the peace under Article 116.
When five service members agree outside a club to back each other against anyone who interferes, then overturn cars while bystanders flee, the conduct raises the riot elements: an assembly of three or more, mutual intent to assist, a violent disturbance, and public terror. Whether particular words were provoking under the circumstances, and whether a crowd’s conduct terrorized the public, depend on how the evidence shows the scene unfolded.
Maximum punishments
| Offense | Maximum (MCM, Part IV, ¶ 54.d and ¶ 55.d) |
|---|---|
| Riot | Dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, 10 years |
| Breach of the peace | Confinement for 6 months and forfeiture of two-thirds pay per month for 6 months |
| Provoking speeches or gestures | Confinement for 6 months and forfeiture of two-thirds pay per month for 6 months |
Breach of the peace and provoking words carry the same ceiling and no punitive discharge; riot sits far above both. In a general or special court-martial, the military judge determines the sentence, capital cases excepted, where every finding of guilty is for an offense committed after December 27, 2023 (10 U.S.C. § 853(b)(1)).
Sources
- 10 U.S.C. § 916, riot or breach of peace (Article 116)
- 10 U.S.C. § 917, provoking speeches or gestures (Article 117)
- 10 U.S.C. § 853, findings and sentencing (Article 53)
- Manual for Courts-Martial, United States (2024 edition), Part IV, ¶ 54 and ¶ 55.
Legal information only: how Articles 116 and 117 are written and explained, with no view on any incident. This page reflects the UCMJ as amended through Public Law 119-60 (December 18, 2025) and the Manual for Courts-Martial (2024 edition) as amended by Executive Order 14130.