COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio’s top lawyer is advising the state’s public universities that a law aimed at discouraging Ku Klux Klan demonstrations could be used to impose felony charges on students who wear masks while protesting the war in Gaza.
After weeks of pro-Palestinian campus protests across the country, Republican Attorney General Dave Yost recommended in a letter Monday that 34 Ohio public four-year colleges (his office The president of the university he represents issued an early warning to students about the 1953 law.
“Nothing in our society can derail a career more severely than a felony charge,” the letter said. “I am writing to you today to inform your student body of an Ohio law that prohibits the incarceration of next of kin. The law could have this effect in the context of certain actions during the Palestinian protests.”
The law contains just one sentence: “No person shall join with two or more persons wearing white hats, masks or other disguises to commit a misdemeanor.” Violators of this “anti-disguise” law will be punished, Yost wrote. The penalty is a fourth-degree felony, a fine of up to $5,000 and five years of community control.
In a world where facial recognition software can easily have negative consequences, protesters in the United States and around the world are increasingly taking steps to remain anonymous by wearing hoods and face coverings. However, not everyone does this to hide their identity. Some wore religious headscarves or medical masks to protect against exposure to COVID-19 or as a political statement about the virus’s ongoing impact.
Yost, a fourth-term state official who is considering a run for governor in 2026, wrote that students should protest “within the bounds of the law,” not commit a crime, and should not use the First Amendment as a “sword against their classmates.” and “advocate for yourself and avoid wearing a mask.”
Ohio has 34 public universities, including Kent State University (Kent State University) and Ohio State University. Kent State University’s name is synonymous with the 1970 clashes between Vietnam War protesters and National Guard members that left four people dead; Ohio State University was the site of several protests in recent weeks and dozens of people were injured. arrests, mostly for trespassing.
Ohio State University spokesman Ben Johnson said the university has received Yost’s letter and is reviewing it. In a March 6 letter, Yost told President Ted Carter that Ohio law prohibited the university from divesting its interest in Israeli assets, one of the protesters’ calls.
Kent State and several other universities contacted by The Associated Press did not immediately comment. Nor did the Intercollegiate Council, which represents university interests, or the American Civil Liberties Union.
Bethany McCorkle, a spokesperson for Yost’s office, said the letter about the Pretense Act was not a response to any specific request for legal advice from the university.
“This letter is a proactive directive to the university where he serves as an advisor to ensure that no one inadvertently becomes a felon,” she said in the text message.
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