It’s time to bring back a pre-COVID law forbidding groups of masked people from gathering together in public, activists and officials insist.
A nearly 200-year-old law that made it illegal to be disguised in public was repealed in 2020, to allow mask-wearing to prevent the spread of the virus.
But face coverings have recently made a comeback as part of the de-facto uniform of pro-Palestine protesters on college campuses.
“While the right to peaceful assembly and free speech are core to our national values, the deceptive use of masks and other facial covering pose a significant risk to public safety,” said Staten Island Assemblyman Michael Reilly.
“This is now being used as a tool that those who are looking to wreak havoc are utilizing,” Reilly told The Post. “If you’re truly out there for peaceful assembly, then there’s no reason to cover your face. For those that cover their face, their intentions are to do something that is not peaceful.”
Reilly, a former NYPD lieutenant, introduced legislation to amend the law, making it a misdemeanor punishable by 90 days in jail or up to one year if there is injury to another person or theft or damage of property.
It wouldn’t apply to religious coverings, he noted.
State Sen. Steven Rhoades is co-sponsoring the bill in the Senate.
Louis Turco, president of the NYPD Lieutenants Benevolent Association, said it would “prevent criminals from hiding their appearance while committing crimes.”
Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt recently took to X to call for a ban of full face masks on campus.
“Masks that cover the entire face have no bearing on COVID or free speech and should be banned,” he said.
Violent protesters last week occupied Columbia University’s Hamilton Hall, many clad in ski masks, full-face keffiyehs, N-95s and hoods.
Pro-terror demonstrators have admitted the practice is to prevent “doxxing,” or having their identities revealed, over their activism.
