Street clashes renew debate over masks

Far-right, far-left groups clash again in streets of Portland, Oregon; 13 arrested

The controversial tactic of wearing masks at public protest events is being hotly debated in the US, as recent clashes between far-right and far-left groups have captured national attention.

Portland, Oregon, a frequent battleground for right-wing demonstrators and their left-wing counterparts, such as Antifa (short for anti-fascist) in recent years, is considering banning the wearing of a mask to evade identification in criminal activity in the city. 

City police attempted to break up skirmishes between the two rival groups on Saturday, leading to 13 arrests and six injuries. Eight people were injured and four arrested in similar clashes in June.

Portland Police Chief Danielle Outlaw called for an anti-mask law following June's clashes.

"Masks worn by some protesters hindered officers' ability to identify suspects,'' Outlaw said at a news conference last month. "A lot of people are emboldened because they know they can't be identified."

Members of Antifa usually dress in black, sometimes with their faces covered by masks. They say they do so to unify demonstrators' efforts and hide their identities for their own protection.

They are a loose coalition of individuals with left-leaning political views, generally opposing the inequality of wealth by corporations and discrimination against marginalized communities.

Antifa has received widespread attention in recent years, especially after clashing with white nationalists in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017, where a white supremacist drove a car into a crowd of counter-protesters, killing one demonstrator.

Last month, Portland-based conservative blogger Andy Ngo was beaten up by some black-clad people, whom he believed to be members of Antifa.

"The masks are an insult to the rest of us progressives. They endanger us by associating us with threatening violence. It is a cowardly, selfish act that makes us look like fools," said Malheur Sam, in a comment posted on news website The Oregonian last month following the June clashes.

Antifa's tactics also have prompted a call for federal legislation from Republican Congressman Dan Donovan of New York, who introduced a bill in 2018 to target masked activists.

The bill would punish anyone wearing a mask or disguise who "injures, oppresses, threatens, or intimidates" someone else exercising a right guaranteed under the Constitution.

Rose City Antifa, named for its home city of Portland and known as the oldest active Antifa group in the US, argues that wearing a mask in public is protected by the First Amendment.

"We believe that masks, as an item of clothing, are protected by this amendment. These anti-mask laws are intended to make demonstrators afraid of surveillance and possible repression," the group said in an email to China Daily.

The bill also has drawn concerns from critics who are afraid that it could embolden the far-right demonstrators.

About 15 states and some local jurisdictions have adopted some type of anti-mask laws, and many of them were passed in the mid-20th century to prevent the Ku Klux Klan from organizing in public.

In Georgia, wearing masks can be considered an act of intimidation and threat of violence.

In New York, it's illegal to congregate in public with two or more people while each is wearing a mask or any face covering that disguises identity.

California also prohibits the wearing of a mask in the act of committing a crime.

"Craft the law so that wearing a mask while having intent to, or while committing a crime, is illegal," said a user under the name of Baccus in a comment on The Oregonian's website. "Then we can all still enjoy Halloween."