NEW YORK– Prosecutors in New York dropped charges against a kaffiyeh-wearing pro-Palestinian protester on Friday. among the first people arrested under a local ban on face masks that is raising concerns about freedom of expression.
Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly’s office confirmed it dismissed charges against Xavier Roa during a court hearing on Long Island.
“The matter was extensively investigated and upon conclusion, the NCDA determined that the allegations could not be proven beyond a reasonable doubt and was moved to dismiss the charges,” spokesperson Nicole Turso said in a statement.
Roa’s lawyer Geoffrey Stewart called the decision a “major victory” for his client and “for civil liberties,” but argued that the law itself should be “struck off the books.”
“This case shows that the law can and likely will be abused by law enforcement because the law is unconstitutionally vague,” he said in an email.
Steward has maintained that Roa acted respectfully and obeyed officers as he peacefully exercised his constitutionally protected right to free speech during a protest outside an Orthodox synagogue in September.
The North Bellmore resident was detained under Nassau County’s Mask Transparency Act, which prohibits people from wearing masks to conceal their identities in public. It includes exemptions for people wearing masks “for health, safety, religious or cultural purposes.”
The Republican-controlled county legislature passed the law in August in response to “anti-Semitic incidents, often perpetrated by people wearing masks” since the beginning of the month Israel-Hamas war last year.
Roa, who faced a year in prison and a $1,000 fine if convicted of the crime, was the first protester arrested under the ban.
The New York chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations and other groups denounced it at the time as evidence that the local law was being used as a “silence tactic” against Palestinian supporters.
Nassau County police said Roa had tried to conceal his identity while leading others in pro-Palestinian chants. They also said he told officers he was wearing the scarf in solidarity with Palestinians and not for exempt medical or religious purposes.
In videos showing part of the arrestRoa wears the kaffiyeh around his neck as he is led away in handcuffs.
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Succeed Philip Marcelo twitter.com/philmarcelo.