As Republicans have pushed for mask bans to crack down on shadowy protesters and criminals, a pair of Democratic lawmakers in California want to prohibit law enforcement officers from wearing face coverings following the federal crackdown on Los Angeles anti-ICE protests.
State Sens. Scott Wiener and Jesse Arreguin, who represent San Francisco and Oakland, respectively, announced on social media that they would be introducing the “No Secret Police Act” to ban most law enforcement members from covering their faces when interacting with the public.
The bill would also require officers to display identifying information on their uniforms, like name tags on their helmets.
“We’re seeing the rise of secret police — masked, no identifying info, even wearing army fatigues — grabbing & disappearing people. It’s antithetical to democracy & harms communities. The No Secret Police Act can help end the fear & chaos this behavior creates in communities,” Wiener wrote on X.
“The recent federal operations in California have created an environment of profound terror. If we want the public to trust law enforcement, we cannot allow them to behave like secret police in an authoritarian state,” Wiener told The San Francisco Standard.
The legislation wouldn’t affect SWAT members and officers who need to wear medical masks during certain disasters, including wildfires that frequently rock the Golden State. Certain types of riot gear, like the ones donned by many cops handling the LA protests, would also still be permitted under the bill so long as the officer’s face is still visible through the face covering.
In Los Angeles, protesters have come prepared to the demonstrations with their own face coverings, ranging from medical masks to protect against tear gas to keffiyehs, a traditional Palestinian scarf commonly worn during anti-Israel protests.
Some of the masked protesters were photographed and filmed setting cars on fire or hurling items at officers. The coverings make it harder for cops to identify and track down the violent suspects.
In New York City, calls for a mask ban on protesters increased after anti-Israel encampments spurred chaos on many college campuses in the city and across the United States. A NYC council member introduced a bill to forbid full-coverage ski masks from being worn in public.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, meanwhile, belabored on publicly advocating a mask ban statewide for months despite encouraging it behind closed doors. She eventually relented while trying to finalize the state budget in April and included a new law that tacks on an additional fine for anyone who wears a mask while committing a crime.
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