A Virginia law criminally prohibiting all law enforcement officers working in the state from wearing masks on the job is supposed to take effect on July 1.
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However, the Justice Department is suing the Commonwealth to block it.
In a press release, the agency claims that the state law is an illegal attempt to regulate the federal government, adding it puts officers at risk of harassment, doxing and violence.
The suit names Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones and Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano as the defendants.
“Governor [Abigail] Spanberger cannot tell federal officers how to do their job,” Associate U.S. Attorney General Stanley Woodward said in the release.
Even though Spanberger is not named as a defendant in the suit, she signed the bill into law.
“Law enforcement officers wearing masks on American streets undercut basic expectations of accountability, sow fear and confusion, and erode the public trust,” Spanberger said in a May statement after approving the bill. “Americans have witnessed the horrors of what can occur when masked federal immigration enforcement agents engage in fear-based policing and enforcement theatre on American streets — like in Minnesota where Renee Good and Alex Pretti were murdered.”
Additionally, the suit seeks to overturn provisions of the bill that require individual identification of officers. In the release, the Justice Department adds the law would “functionally [ban]” 287(g) agreements, which are police agency contracts with ICE to collaborate in the detention of people suspected of being in the country illegally.
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