A pro-Confederate rally was held in Richmond, Virginia, last Saturday. Richmond was the capital of the Confederacy and has its share of Confederate monuments. A group from Tennessee calling themselves the New Confederate States of America gathered in Richmond to protest proposals to remove some statues from Monument Avenue. Counter-protesters showed up in even greater numbers. You may not have heard of this rally because there was no violence. Four people – three VCU students and a former student – were arrested for wearing masks. Two of those arrested are from northern Virginia and two are from other states.
Wearing a mask in public (over age 16) is a felony in Virginia. Wearing a mask can get you a 5 year prison sentence. The mask law was passed in 1952 as a means of “unmasking” members of the KKK when they assembled in public. Other Southern states passed similar laws. Before the rally, the police warned that they would be strictly enforcing the mask law.
Those arrested were arraigned yesterday and today. One woman said, “I was wearing the mask to protect myself from people who I was told were filming and photographing us with the intent of doxing us.” Doxing is the revealing of someone’s personal information with the intent to instigate harassment.
A court hearing has been scheduled for October 31 – Halloween.
No comments:
Post a Comment