A teenager was arrested in Nassau County, New York, over the weekend for wearing a mask in public, marking the first arrest in connection with the face covering ban signed into law by the county earlier this month.
According to Nassau County Police, Weslyn Omar Ramirez Castillo, 18, of Hicksville, was arrested in Levittown on Sunday after officers responded to a report of a “suspicious male” wearing dark clothing and “a mask to hide his identity” on Spindle Road.
Authorities said Ramirez-Castillo “continued to act suspiciously while attempting to hide a large bulge in his waistband,” which turned out to be a 14-inch knife.
Police said officers found the knife when they stopped him and searched him under the mask law. Ramirez-Castillo allegedly refused to comply with officers’ commands and was arrested.
He was charged with unlawful possession of a weapon, obstructing governmental administration and violating the transparent mask law. He was arraigned Monday in Hempstead First District Court.
Nassau officials said they were not aware of any other violations of the transparent mask law.
“Their identities need to be uncovered in order for these investigations to proceed smoothly,” the spokesman said.
A controversial ban on wearing face coverings in public became law on August 15 in Nassau County, a part of Long Island just east of New York City. The ban, the first of its kind, was touted as a public safety measure to target those who commit crimes by concealing their faces, although there are exceptions for health and religious reasons.
Anyone who violates the law will be charged with a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail and a $1,000 fine.
County Councilman Howard Kopel said the mask ban was introduced in response to “anti-Semitic incidents committed by mask wearers” since the start of the Israel-Hamas war on October 7.
All 12 Republicans in Congress voted in favor of the bill, while seven Democrats abstained, NBC New York reported.
County Council Democratic Minority Leader Delia DeRiggi Whitton called the legislation a “clear waste of taxpayer money” and “political theater.”
Critics say the ban poses dangers to people who want to protest peacefully while keeping their identities hidden.
The ban has since been challenged in federal court, with some arguing that the law violates the Americans with Disabilities Act and unnecessarily subjects individuals with health conditions to ridicule.
