O’Rielly Wants Federal Law to Target Copper Theft

Former GOP FCC Commissioner says we need steeper federal penalties.

O’Rielly Wants Federal Law to Target Copper Theft
Photo of Former FCC Commissioner Michael O'Rielly from NextTV

WASHINGTON, Feb. 4, 2025 – KOMO News, the ABC affiliate in Seattle, reported last week that King County police are cracking down on copper wire theft and vandalism, which have been plaguing the telecommunications industry.

“Every week we’re seeing these cases, and we’re working on them, and a lot of people don’t see them in headlines and so they wonder if there’s action being taken. I guarantee you there is,” said Casey McNerthney, a spokesman with the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.

Former Republican FCC Commissioner Michael O’Rielly says a new federal law is needed to safeguard telecommunications networks, private companies, and consumers from the rise of copper theft.

In his Jan. 29 essay, published by the Free State Foundation, O’Rielly called on Congress to federally criminalize “willfully or maliciously injuring or destroying communications facilities operated or controlled” by private companies.

O’Rielly said current federal law only protects networks that serve a “military or civil defense function.” Violating this law can result in a fine of up to $250,000 or 10 years in prison. He wants it to cover private companies as well.

“A logical and appropriate fix would be to enact a targeted expansion of this provision to cover the injuring or destroying of private broadband networks,” or something similar, he wrote.

Some companies have taken matters into their own hands. For example, AT&T offered $10,000 rewards for information leading to an arrest or conviction in a Texas county last October.

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