COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio’s top lawyer has advised the state’s public universities that a law written to deter Ku Klux Klan demonstrations could be used to impose felony charges on students who wear face coverings while protesting the war in Gaza.around the country, Republican Attorney General Dave Yost advised the presidents of Ohio’s 34 public, four-year universities — which his office represents — to forewarn students about the 1953 law.
The law is contained in a single sentence: “No person shall unite with two or more others to commit a misdemeanor while wearing white caps, masks, or other disguise.” Violating this “anti-disguise” law is punishable by a fourth-degree felony charge, up to $5,000 in fines and five years on community control, Yost wrote.