Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin criticized municipalities for not doing more to curb what he characterized as unsafe loitering during a press conference Thursday, July 10, 2025.
Griffin called on city and county officials to do more to enforce Act 255 of 2023, an anti-loitering law that replaced a law targeting panhandlers that was struck down by a federal judge in 2020 for violating the First Amendment.
Under the act, anyone who “lingers or remains” on a sidewalk, road or parking lot in a manner that is “harassing or threatening,” is “likely to cause alarm,” or “create[s] a traffic hazard or impediment” could be charged with a misdemeanor, punishable by up to 30 days in prison and $500 fine if found guilty…