RALEIGH, N.C. — Increased punishments for rioting in North Carolina will become law as Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper says he won't veto a measure containing them.
Cooper on Friday announced he would let the bill become law without his signature.
The governor successfully vetoed a similar bill in 2021. But now Republicans have padded their House and Senate majorities and a half-dozen House Democrats voted for this year's measure.
That raised prospects of a successful override. Republicans have advanced the bills following the 2020 demonstrations about racial injustice that at times turned violent.
Cooper said changes had been made to this year's bill but he still had First Amendment concerns.
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