NY AG joins Kat, Adams in war on face coverings
New York Attorney General Letitia James is getting behind an effort to change state law that could ban face coverings at protests — following a surge in hateful attacks involving masked antisemites.
In an exclusive statement to The Post, a spokesperson for James said that the state’s top attorney is “in discussions” with Gov. Hochul and lawmakers over the push to bring back New York’s mask ban — which James supported scrapping during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, right before the George Floyd demonstrations began to rage.
“This is a complex legal matter, and we are currently in discussions with lawmakers on this issue,” the statement from James’ office said. “In New York, no one should be able to hide behind a mask to spew hate.”
While James’ role is purely advisory at this stage of the lawmaking process, her opinion carries significant weight since she would ultimately be charged with defending such a law in court were it to be reimplemented and challenged.
Back in May 2020, James had penned a letter to state lawmakers expressing her full-throated support of repealing the more than two-century-old ban on group mask-wearing, arguing it was a necessary step to enforce public health directives during the pandemic. The Legislature voted to repeal the law three days after Floyd’s death at the hands of a Minneapolis cop, an incident that sparked nationwide protests.
Jewish leaders have recently called on lawmakers to bring the law back, arguing it’s allowing virulent anti-Jewish protesters to spew hate while obscuring their identities and escaping accountability.
“We will not tolerate individuals using masks who may be responsible for criminal or threatening behavior,” Hochul said Thursday, pointing out a shocking incident in which masked thugs took over a subway car in Manhattan earlier this week and ordered “Zionists” to “get out.”
Hochul said she was working with lawmakers after Jewish leaders’ calls, first reported by The Post, to reinstate the anti-masking law, with the talks largely, but not entirely, focused on subways.
‘Cowards hide’
Mayor Adams went a step further, saying, “I agree with those who are calling for removal of the ban, not only for the protesters who are using vile language, but also for criminal behavior,” in an interview on 77 WABC’s “Cats & Cosby” Thursday evening.
“Cowards hide their faces. Dr. [Martin Luther] King did not hide his face,” Adams told hosts John Catsimatidis and Rita Cosby.
“Now is the time to go back to the way we were pre-COVID, where you should not be able to wear masks at protests.”
State pols, both Republican and Democrat, are starting to come around to the idea of bringing back the law, which banned gatherings of people covering their faces — and carried a penalty of 15 days in jail.
“I am pleased to see Democrats at every level begin to snap back to reality on public safety — even if it is just a result of low poll numbers,” said Assemblyman Mike Reilly, who sponsors a bill that would revive the ban and implement stiffer penalties for groups of assailants who threaten people or vandalize property while masked.
“Gov. Hochul must call us back to Albany immediately to do this,” Reilly (R-Staten Island) told The Post on Friday, referring to the fact that the Legislature, whose session ended last week, would need to come back to Albany to take special action.
Though it’s unclear exactly how in-depth the talks are, James does sometimes get involved in crafting policy. Earlier this year she played a major role in drawing landmark legislation to give parents more control over how their kids interact with addictive social media feeds.
Hochul made clear that any action on a mask ban would include “major exemptions” for health concerns as well as cultural and religious reasons.
“We are still fine tuning it to make sure everyone who is immunocompromised or has a religious reason can continue to wear masks but, otherwise, it should revert to the pre-pandemic law,” state Sen. Jim Skoufis (D-Orange) told The Post Friday about the bill he backs.
The piece of legislation Skoufis sponsors with Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz (D-Bronx) is similar to Reilly’s, but would mostly just reimplement the former law.
“Some of these antisemitic incidents I’m seeing is like what happened to Jews in Nazi Germany before the war,” Dinowitz said.