California bans masks meant to hide law enforcement officers' identities

Gerardo Zavala

September 20, 2025 / 3:02 pm

SACRAMENTO, Calif — California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed a law banning law enforcement from wearing masks on duty except for things like riot gear, medical masks and undercover work.

Saying it's the first bill of its type in the country, Newsom — a Democrat and frequent critic of President Trump — said it was a sign of growing authoritarianism to have detentions in by masked men "hidden from accountability, any transparency, any oversight. That's Trump's America."

He said federal agents had operated for years in the state unmasked and called masking "a new construct conceived to terrorize our diverse communities."

The law, called by sponsors the " No Secret

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