Modesto Council adopts emergency ordinance tightening face‑covering and tactical‑gear rules at protests

Modesto, Calif. — The Modesto City Council on Dec. 2 adopted an urgency ordinance that revises the city's rules for public assemblies to prohibit certain face coverings and "tactical" gear and to clarify medical, religious and costume exemptions. The vote was unanimous.

The ordinance, as presented by constitutional attorney Deborah Fox and supported by Modesto Police Chief Brandon Gillespie's presentation, narrows exemptions for face coverings, explicitly excludes balaclavas and ski masks from the medical exemption, and adds detailed findings and definitions for hard‑shell helmets, tactical vests and umbrella use. City Attorney Jose Sanchez said the city retained Myers Nave attorney Deborah Fox for First Amendment review. Fox told the council the changes are intended to "provide clear guidelines" for both the public and law enforcement and that costume and medical exemptions would remain.

Supporters said the changes protect public safety. Teresa Gamboa, who said she witnessed bottles thrown in a 2022 downtown incident, told the council: "Please keep the mask mandate in place. I want everyone in our city to feel safe." Chief Gillespie showed photos and videos from demonstrations in 2020–2022, including protesters wearing face coverings and tactical gear whom he said presented safety risks; he told the council Modesto's past enforcement and the ordinance have reduced violent incidents.

Opponents said the ordinance remains vague and could enable overbroad enforcement that chills protected speech. Angelica Salceda of the ACLU of Northern California told the council the revisions "make the ordinance more unconstitutional, not less," and warned of litigation. Multiple speakers, including community organizers and civil‑liberties advocates, criticized the city's community engagement and the survey used to justify the changes; speakers argued the city had not demonstrated that wearing a face covering alone predicted violent behavior.

Deborah Fox said the ordinance includes a narrowly defined religious exemption that applies when a religious garment covers the face and a medical exemption for specified medical‑grade masks; she also reiterated that the ordinance expressly exempts costumes worn for expressive events such as Halloween or Mardi Gras. She recommended council adopt the urgency measure so the clarified rules take effect immediately and introduced the companion non‑urgency ordinance for first reading.

The council first voted to waive the reading and adopt the urgency ordinance and later voted to introduce and waive first reading of the regular ordinance that will follow the standard adoption process. Both motions passed unanimously on roll calls.

What the ordinances do and don't change: the measures refine the city's existing 2019 assembly rules to (1) narrow which face coverings are exempted for medical necessity; (2) specify that costumes worn for expressive performance remain exempt; (3) distinguish hard‑shell helmets from soft bike helmets; and (4) clarify umbrella use for weather while prohibiting umbrella use as shields or weapons. City staff said the intent is clarification, not expansion, of enforcement.

The council heard scores of public comments both supporting and opposing the measures, and speakers raised questions about the role of police in drafting the ordinance, the sufficiency of the city's legal review, the quality of the survey cited by staff, and the Community Police Review Board's recommendations. Several speakers urged stronger civilian oversight or additional funding for the Community Police Review Board.

Next steps: The urgency ordinance is effective immediately. The companion ordinance was introduced and will proceed through the normal public hearing and adoption process; multiple commenters and the ACLU said they expect to challenge the changes in court if the council moves forward.

Actions at a glance: the council unanimously adopted the urgency ordinance and unanimously introduced and waived first reading of the non‑urgency ordinance amending Municipal Code Title 4, Chapter 23.

Closing note: Mayor Zwolan closed the meeting after both votes. The city provided a public comment period that included both pro‑ and anti‑ordinance testimony.