A coalition of Black and Jewish lawmakers in Maryland introduced a bill this month to ban the wearing of masks to intimidate or harass, part of a campaign by the Anti-Defamation League and the Urban League that began in the New York State Assembly, where similar legislation is being considered.

The bill, which bans “masked intimidation,” was written in response to the increasing incidence of protesters from across the political spectrum wearing face coverings to obscure their identity and cause disturbances. 

“It criminalizes utilizing masks to intimidate, menace or harass folks, and it’s the same laws we had in place in the post-KKK era,” said Sen. Jeff Waldstreicher, a Montgomery County Democrat and one of the bill’s co-sponsors. 

The bill’s sponsors are billing it as a collaborative effort between the Black and Jewish communities in Maryland, meant as a show of solidarity after the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attacks and the war in Gaza have tested the historic partnership between the two groups.

“Marylanders in general, not just Black Marylanders, but we turned our backs, even in silence, to our Jewish brothers and sisters [after Oct. 7]. That’s why this bill is so important,” said Del. Adrian Boafo, a Prince George’s County Democrat, referring to what he saw as a lack of support for the Jewish community as Israel conducted a retaliatory war against Hamas. “This is a law that says we’re trying to protect our communities and Marylanders.”

On the one-year anniversary of the Oct. 7 attacks, Boafo wrote an op-ed in The Washington Post expressing his support for the Jewish community as he described his personal reverence for the historic Black-Jewish alliance. 

“I want the Maryland Jewish community to know that it is not alone, even if it often feels that way,” he wrote. “Ours is an alliance built not only on values rooted deeply in our cultures and faiths but also in a shared experience of trauma, ethnic violence, forced displacement, legal discrimination and implicit bias.”

Waldstreicher leaned on the communities’ longtime relationship to explain his decision to support the bill.

“These two groups have always worked together, hand in glove, to found the NAACP, during the Civil Rights era in the 1960s, and now we can do so again,” Waldstreicher said. “The folks who are intimidating African Americans behind masks are the same folks who are intimidating Jewish Americans behind masks.” 

While masking has become a common tactic of anti-Israel protesters, they are not the only ones wearing face coverings to obscure their identity. 

“This is not a Jewish community issue. This is an issue to fight hate and extremism,” said Meredith Weisel, vice president of state and local advocacy at the Anti-Defamation League. Members of the far-right Proud Boys have targeted drag queen story hour and other LGBTQ events in Maryland while wearing masks, Weisel said. 

“This is a tactic that is used by extremists across the ideological spectrum,” said Weisel. “It’s a historic effort that, quite frankly, is coming at a time of crisis across the country, where we are seeing the Jewish community and the Black community and other vulnerable communities that are being directly harassed and terrorized in their own communities.”

The bill has carve-outs for people who wear masks or face coverings for health or religious reasons. According to the legislation, penalties for violating the law would include time in prison for up to 90 days or a fine of $500 on the first offense, and prison time of 180 days or a fine of $1,000 on later offenses.  

The bill will be debated in a hearing of the Maryland House of Delegates judiciary committee on Tuesday.