Police in suburban New York county make first arrest under local law banning face masks

A teenager was arrested in New York's suburban Nassau County over the weekend and charged with wearing a face covering to conceal his identity in public, making it the first arrest under the county's new law banning face masks.

Wesslin Omar Ramirez Castillo, 18, of Hicksville, was arrested on Sunday after officers responded to "reports of a suspicious male wearing a mask to conceal his identity," the Nassau County Police Department said in a news release Wednesday. Police said the incident occurred shortly before 8 p.m. in Levittown, a hamlet in Nassau County.

"Upon further investigation, (Ramirez Castillo) continued to display suspicious behavior while attempting to conceal a large bulge in his waistband which turned out to be a 14” knife," the Nassau County Police Department said. "Defendant Ramirez Castillo refused to comply with officers commands as he was placed under arrest without further incident."

Ramirez Castillo was charged with criminal possession of a weapon, obstructing governmental administration, and violating the county's mask ban, known as the Mask Transparency Act, according to police. He was arraigned Monday at First District Court in Hempstead. 

During a news conference Wednesday, Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder said Ramirez Castillo allegedly told police that he was told to wear the mask and was provided a knife to commit a robbery.

"This individual in himself was not suspicious," Ryder said at the news conference. "The fact that he was wearing that mask is why the call came in, (that's) why it was suspicious."

Ramirez Castillo is the first to be arrested and charged with wearing a face covering in public since the controversial mask ban was passed by the county’s Republican-controlled legislature earlier this month. The law criminalizes wearing face masks to hide identities in public spaces except in cases for medical, religious, or cultural purposes.

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Nassau County legislators approved the Mask Transparency Act on August 5 with all 12 Republicans in the legislature voting in its favor and seven Democrats abstaining. The ban took effect immediately after Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman signed it into law on August 14.

Republican legislator Mazi Melesa Pilip introduced the bill after concerns grew over alleged antisemitic incidents committed at protests across the country, including a wave of demonstrations in response to the Israel-Hamas war at college campuses. The U.S. has also seen a surge in Islamophobia, anti-Muslim, and antisemitic incidents since the start of the war last year.

Local officials have said the mask ban is a public safety measure, targeting people who commit crimes while wearing a mask to hide their identity.

"If we don't give our police officers the tools necessary to combat crime, someone with a knife like this could potentially kill somebody," Blakeman said at Wednesday's news conference.

Those who violate the law face a misdemeanor that can be punished with up to one year in prison and a $1,000 fine. The law allows law enforcement officials to require the removal of a mask during traffic stops or "when the officer has reasonable suspicion of criminal activity and/or intention to partake in criminal activity."

Mask ban challenged in federal court

Civil rights advocates and state officials have criticized the ban, saying the law infringes on free speech rights and compromises the safety of protesters and the health of local communities.

"Nassau County’s mask ban is a dangerous misuse of the law to score political points and target protestors," Susan Gottehrer, Nassau County regional director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, said in a statement earlier this month. "Barring people who speak out from protecting themselves and their identities puts their health and well-being in danger, particularly people with disabilities, people of color, and those with unpopular views."

The ban has also been challenged in federal court. A lawsuit, filed last week by the advocacy group Disability Rights New York, is seeking a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction to stop enforcing the mask ban.

Disability Rights New York said the ban discriminates against people with disabilities and violates the U.S. Constitution and the Americans with Disabilities Act. "This mask ban poses a direct threat to public health and discriminates against people with disabilities," Timothy Clune, executive director of Disability Rights New York, said in a statement.

Contributing: Alexandra Rivera, Rockland/Westchester Journal News