As protesters around the country call for justice for George Floyd, who was killed by Minneapolis police officers on May 25th, many cities have enacted curfews in response to looting  and rioting.  Although curfew orders vary slightly in terms of hours  and severity, most of them have similarities. At Skip our mission is to help you easily access government services, and that also means helping you advocate for yourself and understand the rules that are governing you.  So read on to learn about the definition of a curfew, who it applies to and what happens if you break it.

What Does a Curfew Mean?

Curfews are an order put in place by a city, state or regional government that call for all people to stay inside between certain hours (usually, evening ones). This usually means businesses are ordered to be closed and people are not allowed to recreate in parks, walk around their neighborhoods, socialize or gather for protests.

Most curfew orders have certain people who are exempted, including firefighters, police, homeless persons, journalists, and those traveling to or from a workplace or to get medical assistance.

People walking their dogs, people shopping for groceries, and people visiting family are not exempted under most curfew orders. Curfews are stricter than the stay at home orders that were in place in most states due to the novel coronavirus.

You can check your city's website to see full curfew hours and information on who is exempted.

What Happens if You Break A Curfew

If you are out past the curfew order, you may be cited or even arrested.  You don't have to be at a protest to be considered breaking curfew; there have been reports of people  arrested for simply getting things from their cars.

The level of strictness of curfews and whether people are arrested for breaking them varies by state, but it's safe to assume that if you are out after curfew, there is a chance you will be arrested, even if you were unaware a curfew was happening.

Please check local news and your city's website to learn about the consequences for breaking curfew in your town or city.

What to Do if You Are Wrongfully Cited or Arrested

If you feel that you were wrongfully cited or arrested--if, for example, you should have been exempt from the curfew order or if the curfew wasn't in place yet--you can seek legal assistance. Check out the legal assistance offered by the National Lawyer' Guild for more info.