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U.S. DOJ Challenges Milwaukee Ordinance
Today the United States Department of Justice filled a lawsuit against the city of Milwaukee and a number of local officials regarding the city's ordinance prohibiting law enforcement agents from wearing masks.
The lawsuit specifically names the City, Mayor Cavalier Johnson, City Attorney Evan Goyke, and Chief of Police Jeffrey Norman.
The Milwaukee ordinance, ch. 105-140, specifically states that the purpose of the policy is to "prevent impersonation and fraud, and ensure transparency and accountability in law enforcement operations," because people "may experience fear or intimidation when approached by officers whose faces are obscured."
Although the ordinance also states that it shall not be meant to "prohibit, restrict, or interfere with the proper exercise of state or federal law enforcement," the U.S. DOJ argues that it is "an illegal attempt to regulate the federal government."
The U.S. DOJ's press release goes on to say that "the law threatens the safety of federal officers who have faced an unprecedent[ed] wave of harassment, doxing, and even violence."
Associate Attorney General Stanley E. Woodward, Jr. said that "State and local leaders cannot tell Federal officers how to do their job," and that despite the ordinance's "exceptions", they result in a material impairment of federal agents' ability to carry out their duties.
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