Prosecutors in New York dropped prices Friday in opposition to a kaffiyeh-wearing, pro-Palestinian protester who was among the many first folks arrested beneath an area face masks ban that is stirred free speech considerations.
Nassau County District Legal professional Anne Donnelly’s workplace confirmed it moved to dismiss the costs in opposition to Xavier Roa throughout a courtroom listening to on Lengthy Island.
“The case was investigated extensively and upon conclusion NCDA determined that the allegations could not be proven beyond a reasonable doubt and moved to dismiss the charges,” spokesperson Nicole Turso mentioned in an announcement.
Roa’s lawyer Geoffrey Stewart hailed the choice as a “big victory” for his shopper and “for civil liberties,” but argued the law itself “should be struck from the books.”
Stewart has maintained that Roa acted respectfully and complied with officers as he peacefully exercised his constitutionally protected free speech rights throughout a protest exterior an orthodox synagogue in September.
The North Bellmore resident was detained beneath Nassau County’s Masks Transparency Act, which bans folks from sporting masks to hide their id in public. It consists of exemptions for individuals who put on masks “for well being, security, non secular or cultural functions.”
The county’s Republican-controlled Legislature accepted the regulation in August in response to “antisemitic incidents, often perpetrated by those in masks” for the reason that begin of the Israel-Hamas battle final yr.
Roa, who confronted as much as a yr in jail and a $1,000 nice if convicted of the misdemeanor cost, was the primary protester arrested beneath the ban.
The New York chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations and different teams denounced it on the time as proof that the native regulation was getting used as a “silencing tactic” in opposition to Palestinian supporters.
Nassau County police mentioned Roa had been trying to hide his id as he led others in pro-Palestinian chants. Additionally they mentioned he instructed officers he was sporting the headscarf in solidarity with Palestinians and never for exempted medical or non secular functions.
In movies exhibiting a number of the arrest, Roa wears the kaffiyeh round his neck as he’s led away in handcuffs.
