By Carolyn Komatsoulis
The Idaho Statesman
BOISE, Idaho — An Idaho committee narrowly voted Wednesday to move a bill forward that would penalize covering one’s face while committing a crime, a proposal that critics say could be selectively enforced or applied to minor crimes.
The proposal, sponsored by Reps Bruce Skaug, R- Nampa, and Don Hall, R- Twin Falls, would add additional penalties of up to a year in prison or an additional fine up to $2,500 or both for people who wear face coverings while breaking the law. The bill would apply to both felonies and misdemeanors.
The main issue critics have with the bill is what it could allow. For example, the bill’s definition could potentially apply to someone wearing sunglasses, Hall acknowledged. But he said using the enhancement would be up to the discretion of prosecutors and the judge. Anyone would have to be guilty of the crime to get the extra penalty, he said. Enhancements are not often used, he added, and wouldn’t be used, for example, if someone jaywalked while wearing a mask.
“They’re not going to be used because somebody wore a pair of Ray-Bans,” Hall told the Statesman in an interview. “Anything could be taken to the extreme, right? You can’t write laws so specific that it narrows it down in that respect. It’s common sense and practicality that will win.”
However, a mix of the Democrats and some Republicans on the panel expressed concern with the discretion afforded to prosecutors, arguing that people with an agenda could add the penalty to minor crimes or target specific individuals, despite Hall’s assurances that they wouldn’t.
“We are setting a dangerous precedent, I think, with this bill,” Rep. Clint Hostetler, R- Twin Falls , said during the Wednesday committee hearing.
At least one lawmaker expressed concern that the enhancement could apply to ICE officers accused of crimes. ICE agents across the country have notoriously carried out immigration enforcement under President Donald Trump while masked.
Nampa Police Lieutenant Jason Kimball told the House Judiciary, Rules and Administration Committee that the bill would help with a growing trend of perpetrators wearing “facial disguises” that embolden their criminal activity. Face coverings make the police investigation more difficult. Kimball told the committee that mask-wearing during crimes happens on a “routine basis,” but he wasn’t able to quantify how often it happens.
What is considered a mask?
Other states have passed similar legislation and the bill isn’t particularly broad because someone has to commit an underlying crime, said Jordan Gross, professor of law at the Boise-based University of Idaho College of Law. The bill doesn’t distinguish between misdemeanor and felony crimes, though, and the description of what constitutes a face covering could be somewhat vague, Gross said.
The bill itself defines a face covering as “a mask, hood, or other device that covers, hides, or conceals any portion of the individual’s face.”
Medical masks would count if someone intentionally put it on to hide their face, Hall told the Statesman.
“There is the potential that somebody could be subject to a higher penalty while engaging in some sort of misdemeanor conduct,” Gross said in a Zoom interview.
The default punishment for a misdemeanor is up to six months in prison, although some misdemeanors offer higher sentences. In some cases, that could possibly double or triple the possible sentence, if passed.
That was not the bill’s intention, Hall said, but could be warranted depending on the circumstances of a crime.
“I am confident in our judiciary,” Hall told the Statesman. “Very rarely in misdemeanors are they going to be using this anyway. It’s going to have to be a serious misdemeanor.”
Is the bill connected to Israel ?
Local far-right provocateur David Pettinger attended the Wednesday hearing to air rumors that swirled online that the bill was backed by Israel, which is thousands of miles away. Pettinger also named the Idaho Jewish Alliance, which is formerly the Idaho Israel Alliance.
Skaug, the chairman and bill sponsor, interrupted his testimony a couple of times to tell him his testimony had veered into inappropriate territory.
Dan Berger, a Boise -based entrepreneur and founder and chair of the Idaho Jewish Alliance, told the Statesman in a phone interview that the alliance supported the bill but the legislation had nothing to do with Israel. Berger said he personally supported the bill because it offers a tool to law enforcement when dealing with people who wear masks while committing crimes.
Rep. Dale Hawkins, R- Fernwood, said during the hearing that the attempt to connect the bill to Judaism is “one of the most ridiculous things I’ve ever heard.”
“I see nothing in this bill connecting to any of that,” Hawkins said. “I just want to make that clear.”
How effective do you believe enhanced penalties for face coverings would be in deterring crime or aiding investigations?
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