Boston has harsh words for protesters who mask their identities, but rebukes do nothing to discourage faceless mobs.
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and City Council President Ed Flynn expressed condemnation after an appearance Saturday by the white nationalist group Patriot Front. They hid their faces behind scarves and hats and joined a faith-based protest outside a Satanic conference in Copley Square, as the Herald reported.
“Boston stands firmly against the hateful ideology of white supremacist groups, and their presence is not welcome here,” Wu and Flynn said in a joint statement emailed to the Herald.
This was a return trip for the Patriot Front. About 100 of them marched through Boston last July, waving flags and keeping their faces covered. Charles Murrell, a 34-year old Black artist was injured in an alleged confrontation with the group.
Mayor Wu had strong words then, too, tweeting: “To the white supremacists who ran through downtown today: When we march, we don’t hide our faces. Your hate is as cowardly as it is disgusting, and it goes against all that Boston stands for.”
And?
What exactly will keep any group whose members mask their identities in public demonstrations from putting Boston on their itinerary in the future?
As it stands, nothing.
“Nothing” had a chance to be “something” back in 2019, when demonstrators with their faces obscured by masks jointed people protesting the Straight Pride Parade that August.
As the Herald reported, police said it was mainly those — many from out of state — who caused trouble and fought with police and the conservative parade-goers. Many of the 36 people arrested at the parade protest were vouched for by antifa — short for “anti-fascist” — which is a loose collection of left-wing agitators.
After the parade clash, then-City Councilor Tim McCarthy proposed an ordinance that would make all face coverings illegal at demonstrations.
“This isn’t people using their First Amendment right to protest — this is people coming to cause trouble,” he said.
A similar bill was introduced on Beacon Hill. It went nowhere.
Boston, and Massachusetts for that matter, are not outliers when it comes to dealing with masked demonstrators. But some other states have done something about it.
Alabama, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia all have “anti-mask” laws, prohibiting the concealment of one’s face in public.
The District of Columbia and New York both repealed their anti-mask laws in June 2020.
The First Amendment guarantees the right to free speech and peaceful assembly. There’s absolutely no problem with that. But hiding one’s face to avoid identification is another matter.
Boston needs to revisit former Councilor’s McCarthy’s proposal. Or the city can roll out the “you’re not welcome here” speech every time another masked group hits the city.
