§ 1753. False public alarms

(a) A person who initiates or willfully circulates or transmits a report or warning of an impending bombing or other offense or catastrophe, knowing that the report or warning is false or baseless and that it is likely to cause evacuation of a building, place of assembly, or facility of public transport, or to cause public inconvenience or alarm, shall, for the first offense, be imprisoned for not more than two years or fined not more than $5,000.00, or both. For the second or subsequent offense, the person shall be imprisoned for not more than five years or fined not more than $10,000.00, or both. In addition, the court may order the person to perform community service. Any community service ordered under this section shall be supervised by the Department of Corrections.

(b) [Repealed.] (Added 1971, No. 169 (Adj. Sess.), § 3; amended 1997, No. 153 (Adj. Sess.), § 3; 1999, No. 113 (Adj. Sess.), § 20; 1999, No. 124 (Adj. Sess.), § 4; 2015, No. 147 (Adj. Sess.), § 11, eff. May 31, 2016.)