😷Readers Ask: Can ICE Really Wear Masks?

Maybe legal. Definitely dangerous.

Set in a world where police wear masks, The Watchmen is a great TV show, and now apparently also reality.

📡 On my Radar

The short answer: Maybe.

When I was in the government, we tried to limit this behavior. But there's still no federal law explicitly prohibiting masks by law enforcement. The decision of when federal officers can wear masks is left to law enforcement and the Executive Branch itself. In some cases masks are expressly forbidden, in others they are allowed.

But the real problem isn't legal—it's public safety.

When federal officers wear masks, it creates cover for impersonators. Communities are already seeing masked individuals with Amazon-ordered vests claim to be federal agents. This loss of trust is why local law enforcement don’t go running around wearing masks.

You can't create the controversy then demand anonymity to handle it.

This is a real danger. In Minnesota, Vance Boelter killed State Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband by impersonating a police officer. He wore a …