Youngstown Daily Legal News

Tougher penalties sought for masked law breakers

KEITH ARNOLD
Special to the Legal News
Published: October 18, 2018

Since President Donald Trump was elected to the nation's highest office in 2016, protests by leftists groups have become commonplace, especially in the nation's capitol and many large cities.

Stoked by social justice movements, such as Black Lives Matter and #MeToo, the protests occasionally become violent, which has prompted some participants to wear masks to conceal their identity and further intimidate non-protestors.

A pair of southwest Ohio lawmakers want to enhance the penalty associated with such behavior based upon law enforcement's inability to properly identify troublemakers who may stifle the free speech of others.

House Bill 423 would make masked intimidation a first-degree misdemeanor for that kind of obstruction of the execution of the law.

"As you may know, there have been an increasing amount of civil demonstrations in the country, said Rep. George Lang, R-West Chester. "While many of them remain peaceful, some get out of order.

"As a result, law enforcement must step in to manage the situation, and find out who has caused the disruption. This has become an increasingly difficult job as many demonstrators are beginning to wear masks."

He told lawmakers in the Ohio House of Representatives seated for the Criminal Justice Committee that Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones had raised the issue of the difficulty deputies have in identifying the masked individuals who may create unrest in public protests.

"After speaking with the sheriff, we instructed the Ohio Legislative Service Commission to research this issue," Lang continued. "LSC found that currently, Ohio prohibits the commission of a crime when wearing a mask by providing a penalty enhancement."

HB 423 would prohibit wearing a mask or disguise in order to purposely obstruct the execution of the law, intimidate a person who is performing a legal duty, or prevent a person from exercising rights granted by the constitution or the laws of Ohio.

"The bill names the offense 'masked intimidation' and classifies it as a first-degree misdemeanor," Jeff Hobday wrote in the Legislative Service Commission analysis of the bill. "Existing law, unchanged by the bill, prohibits a person from uniting with two or more others to commit a misdemeanor while wearing white caps, masks, or other disguise. A person who violates the existing prohibition is guilty of a fourth-degree felony."

HB 423 would provide the same penalty enhancement for mask wearing troublemakers, said Rep. Bill Seitz, R-Cincinnati.

"This, in turn, would allow law enforcement to do their job, and keep everyone safe before demonstrations devolve into violent confrontations," he said. "Similar laws have already been passed in 11 other states and the District of Columbia, and this legislation is virtually verbatim of the law in Massachusetts."

The Legislative Service Commission's fiscal analysis of the bill found that the enhancement may minimally affect local and state costs associated with the enhancement.

"Any additional annual costs for county and municipal criminal justice systems to prosecute, adjudicate, and sanction a few additional offenders that might be convicted as a result of the bill's prohibition are not expected to exceed minimal," Jessica Murphy wrote for the commission's fiscal analysis. "The sentence associated with a first-degree misdemeanor is a maximum of 180 days in jail and a fine of up to $1,000.

"Given the relatively small number of likely convictions, the amount of additional court cost, fee, and fine revenues that counties and municipalities may actually collect annually will be no more than minimal. Also of note is that courts rarely impose the maximum permissible fine."

A few additional misdemeanor convictions stemming from the bill could generate a minimal increase in state court cost revenue, Murphy continued.

Those funds credit the Indigent Defense Support Fund and the Victims of Crime/Reparations Fund.

A third hearing of HB 423, which has cosponsor support of five fellow House members, had not been scheduled at time of publication.

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