Pro-Palestinian protester who wore keffiyeh arraigned under Nassau face mask ban

A pro-Palestinian activist, who last month became the first protester charged under Nassau County's new face mask ban, was arraigned Wednesday in Hempstead. 

Xavier Roa, 26, of North Bellmore, was arrested on Sept. 15 during a rally protesting an event at Young Israel of Lawrence-Cedarhurst, an orthodox synagogue. Police officers asked the activist if he was wearing a keffiyeh — considered a symbol of support for the Palestinian people — over his mouth and nose for medical or religious purposes, which are exceptions to the mask law, charging documents show.

When Roa said he was wearing the keffiyeh "in solidarity for the Palestinian movement," he was taken into custody and released with an appearance ticket, police said.

Roa was arraigned in District Court in Hempstead Wednesday and charged with violating Nassau's Mask Transparency Act, a misdemeanor. He was released on his own recognizance and is due back in court on Oct. 17.

If convicted, he faces up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine.

Geoffrey Stewart, Roa's Manhattan-based attorney, said Wednesday that his client was exercising his constitutionally protected right to free speech and that his face had been visible to police for most of the demonstration. Roa, he said, pulled the keffiyeh over his face only moments before his arrest.

"By all accounts, he complied and acted respectfully to officers," Stewart said. 

The Mask Transparency Act was backed by County Executive Bruce Blakeman and approved in August by the GOP-controlled legislature in what they said was a response to a number of antisemitic incidents following the start of the Israel-Hamas war. The ban made it illegal for people to cover their faces in public, with exceptions for religious, medical and cultural purposes.

Supporters said the measure would keep individuals who commit acts of harassment or violence from evading accountability.

But the bill has been condemned as unconstitutional by civil rights groups, disability rights advocates, public health experts and religious leaders.

Last week, a federal judge dismissed a class-action lawsuit filed by a pair of disabled Nassau residents who said the law posed a direct threat to public health and discriminates against people with disabilities.

U.S. District Judge Joan Azrack ruled that the plaintiffs failed to demonstrate how they are harmed by a law that provides exemptions for individuals who wear masks for health and safety.

There have been at least several other arrests under the Mask Transparency Act, of people also charged with other crimes.

With AP

By Robert Brodsky

robert.brodsky@newsday.com@BrodskyRobert

Robert Brodsky is a breaking news reporter who has worked at Newsday since 2011. He is a Queens College and American University alum.