… Brian Higgins, a professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York, said, in most states, including California, the determination of a riot lies in whether multiple people are involved and whether they are committing acts of violence. "One person is not a riot and neither is a group that is nonviolent," he said. "They can even be breaking the law, like refusing to disperse. It's when you add in the factor of violence that it becomes a riot." … In California, a riot is defined as follows: "Any use of force or violence, disturbing the public...