The Riot Act 1549 was an Act

Act of Parliament

An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...

 of the Parliament of England

Parliament of England

The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England. In 1066, William of Normandy introduced a feudal system, by which he sought the advice of a council of tenants-in-chief and ecclesiastics before making laws...

. It made it high treason

High treason

High treason is criminal disloyalty to one's government. Participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplomats, or its secret services for a hostile and foreign power, or attempting to kill its head of state are perhaps...

 for 12 people or more to assemble and attempt to kill or imprison any member of the King's council or change the laws, and refuse to disperse when ordered to do so by a justice of the peace

Justice of the Peace

A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...

, mayor or sherriff. This offence was abolished by the Treason Act 1553

Treason Act 1553

The Treason Act 1553 was an Act of the Parliament of England. The long title was "An Acte repealing certayne Treasons Felonies and Premunire". The Act abolished all forms of treason that had been created since 1351, except the Treason Act 1351 itself...

, but another Act of that year, 1 Mar. Stat.2 c.12, recreated it, but this time as a felony

Felony

A felony is a serious crime in the common law countries. The term originates from English common law where felonies were originally crimes which involved the confiscation of a convicted person's land and goods; other crimes were called misdemeanors...

.

The 1549 Act also made it a felony for 12 or more people rioting for various other purposes to refuse to disperse for an hour after being ordered to do so.