New York Governor Open to Reinstating Mask Ban Amid Surge of Anti-Semitic Incidents

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul might consider bringing back a long-standing ban on wearing masks in public to prevent perpetrators of anti-Semitic aggression from concealing their identities.

In a June 11 interview with CNN, the Democrat governor said it is “not difficult” to balance free speech with safety amid heightened tensions over pro-Palestinian protests, pledging that her administration will not tolerate behaviors that cross the line from free speech into hate crime.

“If someone wants to stand on a street, protest—they can do whatever they want,” she told host Laura Coates. “You go onto a subway train and threaten people and frighten them? You vandalize a home? Those are illegal acts. That is not even close to being speech.”

The governor was referring to a June 10 incident in which a group of apparent pro-Palestinian protesters—hiding their faces under masks and scarfs—commandeered a subway train and demanded that “Zionists” among the passengers identify themselves. The New York Police Department (NYPD) is asking riders who were aboard that subway car and felt threatened to come forward.

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