A menagerie of frustrated lefties, several attending Monday’s City Council hearing in animal masks, pushed back on a proposal to ban face coverings at public gatherings — an idea that comes in response to violence by some masked people protesting against August’s Straight Pride Parade.
“Do not let a few bad apples to cause you to reflexively take away the freedoms of many,” said Mary Landale, who showed up in a zebra mask — and got into a tiff with city hall security chief Bill Joyce, who told her to leave if she didn’t take it off.
“This is not Hong Kong — this is Boston,” Landale said. She was one of a couple dozen people — touting progressive slogans and denouncing the Straight Pride marchers — who showed up to rail against the proposed mask ban during Monday’s hearing. Several wore animal masks such as sheep and owls.
Deputy Superintendent William Ridge, who leads the Boston Police Department’s patrol division, told the council that the city and state need to further penalize people who commit crimes while wearing masks — such as masked antifa-style agitators.
“What we’re seeing now is these organized groups that are ‘masking up’ — they’re doing this to remain anonymous,” Ridge told the councilors. “When we’re doing our job correctly, we’re becoming a target.”
City Councilor Tim McCarthy, who introduced the bill and chairs the public safety committee that held the hearing, said he’ll make a report from the committee at Wednesday’s meeting and schedule a working group with councilors and city officials to move toward a resolution.
“The mask protects them from legal accountability,” McCarthy said.
Cops say it was mainly black-clad and masked protesters at the Straight Pride Parade — many from out of state — who caused trouble and fought with police and the conservative paradegoers.
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