By MES Dispatch staff
The Briefing
• A federal judge blocked a California law that would have barred federal agents from wearing masks while on duty, ruling it discriminatory.
• The ruling applies to the state’s “No Secret Police Act,” which was signed in September 2025 and was to take effect Jan. 1.
• U.S. District Judge Christina Snyder said the law unfairly exempted state officers, violating the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause.
• A separate state law requiring visible agency and badge identification was upheld and will take effect Feb. 19.
• California officials said they may revise the mask ban to also cover state law enforcement.
LOS ANGELES, CA — A federal judge on Monday blocked enforcement of a California law that would have prohibited federal law enforcement officers from wearing masks while performing their duties, officials said.
U.S. District Judge Christina A. Snyder ruled that the provision, part of the state’s “No Secret Police Act,” discriminated against federal agents by exempting California state police from the same restriction, violating the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause.
The statute at issue was signed by Governor Gavin Newsom in September 2025 and was scheduled to go into effect Jan. 1. The judge’s order prevents the mask ban from being enforced but leaves open the possibility of future legislation that would apply the restriction to all law enforcement agencies.
In the same ruling, Snyder upheld a separate California law requiring law enforcement officers, including federal agents, to visibly display their agency and badge number while on duty. That identification requirement is set to take effect Feb. 19.
California State Senator Scott Wiener, author of the original mask ban legislation, said Monday he plans to introduce new measures to extend the prohibition to state officers to address the legal issue cited by the court.
The federal government had challenged the mask ban in November, arguing it endangered the safety of federal officers and constituted an unconstitutional regulation of federal activities.