A teenager was arrested over the weekend in Nassau County, New York, after he was seen wearing a mask in public — the first arrest linked to the county’s mask ban signed earlier this month.
Wesslin Omar Ramirez Castillo, 18, of Hicksville, was arrested Sunday in Levittown after officers responded to reports of a “suspicious male” walking on Spindle Road, dressed in black and “wearing a mask to conceal his identity,” Nassau County police said.
A photo released by police shows him wearing a ski mask that covers his face but shows his eyes.
Ramirez Castillo allegedly “continued to display suspicious behavior while attempting to conceal a large bulge in his waistband” that turned out to be a 14-inch knife, authorities said.
According to police, officers stopped and searched him in accordance with the mask law and found the knife. Ramirez Castillo allegedly refused to comply with officers’ orders and was placed under arrest.
He was charged with criminal possession of a weapon, obstructing governmental administration and violating the mask transparency law. He was arraigned Monday in First District Court in Hempstead. NBC News has reached out to the Legal Aid Society of Nassau County for comment.
Nassau authorities said they were not aware of any other violations of the mask transparency law.
“In order to facilitate these investigations, we need to unmask them,” a spokesperson said.
The controversial ban on wearing masks in public was enacted on August 15 in Nassau County, which covers part of Long Island just east of New York City. The ban is the first of its kind and has been billed as a public safety measure aimed at targeting those who commit crimes while covering their faces. However, it does provide exemptions for health and religious reasons.
Those who violate the law face a misdemeanor that carries a penalty of up to one year in prison and a $1,000 fine.
County lawmaker Howard Kopel had said the mask ban bill was introduced in response to “anti-Semitic incidents, often perpetrated by masked individuals” since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas on October 7.
While all 12 Republicans in the legislature voted in favor of the measure, all seven Democrats abstained, NBC New York reported.
Delia DeRiggi-Whitton, the Democratic minority leader in the county legislature, called the law a “blatant waste of taxpayer money” and “political theater.”
Critics say the ban poses a risk to those who wish to protest peacefully while concealing their identities.
The ban has also been challenged in federal court in a lawsuit that claims the law violates the Americans with Disabilities Act and unnecessarily exposes people with poor health to ridicule.
