Some people are furious at Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost for warning students protesting Israel’s war against Gaza that they could be charged with a felony that would ruin their lives.
They’ll be put off by the tone of his message to Ohio’s public university presidents, which in part said, “There are few more significant career-wreckers than a felony charge. I write to inform your student bodies of an Ohio law that, in the context of some behavior during the recent pro-Palestinian protests, could have that effect.”
His harsh warning comes across as a threat designed to intimidate students exercising their First Amendment rights.
That’s one view. But there’s another perspective.
Yost did the right thing, even if he didn’t realize it and even if his critics don’t recognize it.
Did Yost do protesters a favor?
Yost’s warning is based on an obscure 1953 state law that says, “No person shall unite with two or more others to commit a misdemeanor while wearing white caps, masks, or other disguise.” Violating the law can result in felony charges, hence the “career-wrecker” language.
(One survey noted its results indicate recruiters consider ex-offenders as a last resort.)
Ohio isn’t alone in these so-called anti-mask laws.
More than a dozen states have enacted them, most in response to Ku Klux Klan face coverings.
Applying that law to protestors on college campuses seems to be an unfair stretch. But the law is on the books, and that gives ammunition to those who see protests they don’t agree with as a punishable offense.
Interestingly, Yost has issued a warning that, in today’s polarized society, makes a lot of sense and may actually be doing the protestors a favor.
There are plenty of lawmakers and authorities who would love to flex their MAGA muscles and make an example of those liberal and non-patriotic protestors. (I’m framing that as their thought process, not mine.).
They could easily make arrests and file charges based on a law written to combat racists who hide their faces. They could show their MAGA bonafides by throwing into jail some young college students wearing masks during a campus gathering.
Two pro-Palestine protestors were arrested Saturday outside of a Xavier University graduation ceremony. The Xavier current student and recent graduate now face misdemeanor charges of criminal trespassing and felonies for allegedly violating Ohio’s Prohibition Against Conspiracy While Wearing Disguise statue.
Twisting laws to hurt law-abiding people
Wearing a mask at a protest isn’t unusual.
When students protested to end segregation, for civil rights, and to end the Vietnam war, some wore masks. Today, it would make even more sense to wear a mask because it’s far easier for your image to be broadcast on social media.
That could lead to an avalanche of threats and hate from people who don’t like your position.https://omny.fm/shows/dispatch-on-demand-audio/playlists/then-what-happened/embed?style=cover
While Yost’s wording seems imprudent, he’s highlighted how partisanship can twist laws to hurt law-abiding people. His letter is a reminder that those in power have all sorts of levers they can pull to tip the scales of justice.
It’s a message we should all heed.
Think about it. The MAGA generation has given rise to an authoritarian bent that has taken hold in American life. During Covid, some Ohio sheriff’s offices refused to enforce mask mandates or curfews.
A deputy arrested a Trumbull County Commissioner for being disruptive in a meeting after she was critical of the sheriff. In a case that drew national attention, authorities arrested an Ohio woman for abuse of a corpse after she had a miscarriage in her home.
You can find all sorts of examples of authorities taking it upon themselves to determine what laws they will and won’t enforce. That’s not justice. It’s injustice, just as it would be if a peaceful protestor was charged with a felony for wearing a mask.
Anyone who wants to protest should, and Yost makes it clear he’s not trying to interfere with that right.
Protestors can, and should, exercise their right to protest against whatever issue they feel strongly about. Just heed Yost’s warning and understand the larger meaning — we will get you if we don’t like what you do.
Continue peaceful protests that abide by the law. Then, when those protests die down, start advocating to change a law that was useful at the time, but isn’t now.
