As today’s Democratic National Convention (DNC) begins, Chicago is struggling to contain hordes of masked anti-Israel protesters, determined to cause disruption. 

This challenge of protecting American institutions from violent agitators is by now familiar to Washington, D.C., which has suffered repeated, large scale rounds of protests this summer. 

In June, thousands of chanting protesters swarmed the White House, demanding President Joe Biden end America’s support for Israel. Demonstrators, some sporting symbols and slogans of support for US-designated terrorist groups, occupied and trashed nearby Lafayette Park, vandalizing its statues and setting off a smoke bomb. Many hid their faces and identities under layers of wrapped keffiyehs and surgical masks: the new uniform of aggressive demonstrators.

When U.S. Park Police officers and Secret Service agents attempted to apprehend a demonstrator, unidentifiable protesters formed a mob, shouting “fuck the police!” and successfully chased law enforcement out of the park by the White House. Shockingly, no arrests were made for this wild desecration in Lafayette Park.

This failure repeated last month, when thousands of protesters desecrated statues and monuments around D.C.’S Union Station, assaulting at least one police officer. Face masks again gave protesters the upper hand, providing anonymity while they successfully intimidated those trying to reestablish order. 

These outcomes might have been very different, if D.C. had anti-masking legislation like Georgia, which makes masking in public spaces—with a few reasonable exceptions—a crime.

It’s urgent Congress passes such a bill.

Indeed, in a situation analogous to the mayhem in Lafayette Square, Georgia law enforcement were able to not just arrest but charge a masked, aggressive demonstrator for covering his face. And despite many Americans’ skepticism that such a ban has teeth in today’s political climate, Georgia’s state Court of Appeals recently upheld this protester’s conviction, denying his motion to have it tossed.

Mirroring the chaos in D.C., Georgia’s court recounted: “the evidence showed that defendant was masked and his arms were interlocked with a group of counter-protesters who were shouting obscenities, chanting anti-police slogans, and banging a [drum], and defendant was asked to take the mask off multiple times but never did. 

It’s imperative that D.C. courts are able to hold disorderly and violent demonstrators accountable. But right now, D.C. legislation does not permit it.

The D.C. City Council did pass anti-masking legislation this winter which Mayor Muriel Browser signed into law in March. The Secure DC omnibus crime bill includes an anti-masking provision, which, as in many other jurisdictions, revived an older anti-masking law that had been scuttled during the Covid pandemic.

However, Secure DC does not deter or punish masking at protests. This is because, following councilmember amendments, current legislation is tailored more narrowly toward cracking down on D.C.’s rampant carjacking and robbery offenders who hide their identities from authorities behind face coverings. Lawmakers opted to remove language from Secure DC’s original draft that extended banning masks for those with the “intent to cause a person to fear for their personal safety.” The current language only forbids anyone over 16 from masking with the intent to avoid identification while engaging in a dangerous crime, a crime of violence, theft, or threats to do bodily harm.

Therefore, to curb the dangerous, escalating, and illegitimate use of masks by anti-Israel agitators, D.C. needs an additional law with better-tailored parameters. This is a perfect time to push for this measure. D.C.’s left-leaning leadership and electorate recognize that face covering, outside of medical imperatives, profession-specific safety gear, and Halloween, has no place in pro-social public activity.

There is also growing consensus on this issue nationwide. North Carolina just passed legislation that, like Georgia, would limit public mask-wearing to those in medical-grade masks and for “preventing the spread of contagious disease.”

In addition to the North Carolina and Georgia bills, Congress can look to Alabama, California, Florida, Louisiana, or Michigan for effective, broad language. As an additional tool, I recently published with my Manhattan Institute colleagues Ilya Shapiro and Tim Rosenberger, model legislation that would be an effective template:

No person shall wear a mask or any other facial obscurant or disguise with an intent to conceal the identity of the wearer while congregating in a public place with other people who are also masked or disguised — except that such conduct is not unlawful when it occurs in connection with a Halloween or masquerade party or similar celebration. Violation of this statute shall be punishable by not more than [15 days] imprisonment and a fine of not more than [$10,000], in addition to any penalties arising from concurrent criminal acts and civil violations.

Even if the timing makes it unlikely that Congress will pass a similar bill this year, they should still try.

D.C.’s unruly, destructive, and violent demonstrations are only going to escalate in the coming months. As we saw at disrupted gay pride parades throughout Pride Month, anti-Israel agitators are becoming bolder and more brazen — and with the DNC kicking off tonight, the need for legislation like this will likely become clearer than ever.

Perhaps even more indicative for D.C., as we barrel toward November’s presidential election, has been the aggressive, masked, anti-Israel demonstrators who mobbed President Biden’s New York City fundraiser in June. Needless to say, keffiyehs and surgical masks hid the identities of many of the riotous group’s leaders, who, setting off smoke bombs and screaming, disobeyed police orders to stop blocking the street. 

Additionally, proposed Congressional legislation, even if it fails to make it into law in the short-term, could give leaders both the language and confidence to condemn such malicious masking. Clearly face-covering for the purpose of engaging in disruptive, threatening protests is happening not just because there is no legal ban; it is because D.C. has failed to articulate why masking is socially harmful and unacceptable. 

America is in desperate need of more civility and trust, and more orderly protection around free speech and assembly. As we head into a season of even greater political tensions, Congress should pass a broad, anti-masking bill—and we should all energetically support it.

Hannah E. Meyers is a fellow and director of policing and public safety for the Manhattan Institute.