Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost sent a letter to local university presidents on Monday, warning that under a law created to combat the Ku Klux Klan (KKK), masked protesters participating in pro-Hamas protests should not be allowed to participate in pro-Hamas protests. He warned that students who did this could be prosecuted.
As Breitbart News recently pointed out, there is an anti-KKK federal law that prohibits masked demonstrators from protesting on someone else’s property for the purpose of intimidating citizens and exercising their civil rights.
Similar state laws exist, such as a 1953 Ohio law that “makes it a fourth-degree felony for two or more persons to commit a crime together wearing white hats, masks, or other disguises.” Determined by NBC affiliate stations. report.
Yost’s letter It says in part (emphasis in original):
Ohio Revised Code 3761.12 makes it a felony to commit a crime (even a misdemeanor like trespassing) with two or more people while wearing a mask. The full text of the statute is as follows:
“No person shall wear a white hat, mask, or other disguise and unite with two or more persons to commit a petty crime.”
Violating this Anti-Counterfeiting Act is a fourth-degree felony, punishable by six to 18 months in prison. Those found guilty can pay a fine of up to $5,000 and spend up to five years on community control. (See Ohio Revised Statutes No. 3761.99.) This penalty is significantly more severe than the misdemeanor charges typically imposed for minor infractions associated with student protests.
I don’t want to see someone’s First Amendment rights curtailed, and I don’t want to see anyone surprised that they broke the law.
The First Amendment is a shield against government, not a sword against students.
First of all, students should protest within the law and not commit crimes. Second, they need to stand up for themselves and avoid wearing masks.
Yost urged educators to make students aware of the law and penalties.
Pro-Hamas “encampments” appear on dozens of campuses across the country, using anti-Semitic rhetoric
Joel B. Pollack is a senior editor at Breitbart News. Breitbart News Sunday Sunday nights from 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM ET (4:00 PM to 7:00 PM PT) on Sirius XM Patriot. He is the author of a recently published e-book.The Zionist conspiracy (and how to join it)‘ is now available on Audible. He is also the author of an e-book. Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 US Presidential Election. He is the recipient of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter @joelpolak.
