By SUZANNE DOWNING
Feb. 10, 2026 – After pushing mask mandates, Democrat Rep. Sara Hannan now wants to criminalize masked police.
During the Covid pandemic, Hannan was among the lawmakers who insisted Alaskans comply with masking rules — supporting mandates that required ordinary citizens to cover their faces in the Capitol in the name of health and safety.
Now, the Juneau Democrat is sponsoring legislation that would make it a crime for peace officers to do the same.
Hannan’s House Bill 250 was heard Tuesday in the House State Affairs Committee. The measure would establish a new criminal offense for police officers who conceal their faces while interacting with the public in an official capacity.
The bill creates a new section of Alaska law: AS 11.56.880 — Wearing a mask in public while acting as a peace officer.
Under HB 250, a peace officer would commit a crime if, while performing official duties, the officer knowingly covers or conceals their face with a mask or disguise during public interactions.
The offense would be classified as a Class B misdemeanor.
The bill includes several exceptions, including officers who are:
-
On undercover assignment
-
Wearing protective face shields that do not obscure the face
-
Wearing smoke-protection masks
-
Wearing a medical mask or respirator — but only with documentation from a licensed physician stating it is necessary for the officer’s health
HB 250 raises questions because of the sharp reversal in political messaging from lawmakers who once demanded masking from the general public. In committee on Tuesday, it became apparent this bill is aimed at ICE officers, who are under federal control.
Rep. Kevin McCabe, speaking against the bill, noted, “In fact there is a study out there that says there’s thousand percent increase in the assaults on officers and their families in recent years due to doxxing and online identification. A thousand percent increase not only on officers and their families … Mostly because of social media online. The people identifying them don’t even have to be there at the protest, which is why officers are masking and hiding their identities.”
11 thoughts on “Rep. Hannan, who once was a mask mandator, now tries to prevent lawmen from wearing masks”
What an AWFUL.
She promotes them when they improve public health, and opposes them when they are intended to intimidate and terrorize. Makes perfect sense to me.
EVERY honest medical professional knew, and knows, that face masks did and do precisely nothing to protect public health. Face masks are nothing more than badges of conformity and compliance to capricious and malicious totalitarian edicts. A badge which kneejerk bootlickers and quislings like you, and every other radical leftist extremist, was more than happy to display.
.
Hans, when will people like you finally grow tired of being evil?
Hans, I would like to know how you define “intimidate and terrorize”, as police officers sole function is enforce the laws on the books and to remove the criminal element intent on breaking said laws. Setting aside the arbitrary nature of Rep. Hannan’s bill, this is Alaska and she is deliberately endangering police officers health. When it is 30 below not wearing a face covering is downright stupid, but I guess if you are a cop, she thinks you deserve frostbite and life altering lung damage. She should instead demand to unmask all those violent rioters, who kick, throw rocks or frozen water bottles at law enforcement or ironically set up illegal road blocks to control who is coming into the neighborhood, so they can be swiftly identified and arrested.
This is a “me too”virtue signaling bill that has no business in this state!
Seems like theatre of the absurd.
.
Government’s Covid response was to mandate mask-wearing by intimidating and terrorizing people.
.
Now the majesty of law forbids mask-wearing presumably by intimidating and terrorizing burly, armed ICE agents?
.
And the atavistic throwbacks for whom masks are still essential couture, who could be mistaken for ICE agents …how should Big Sara’s Law apply to them?
.
No right or wrong answer, Hans, maybe mordant humor carries the day, no?
You have it bacwards Hans. The COVID masking was intened to intimidate and terrorize the population into submission. LEO masking is intended to keep the families of the officers safe for doxing.
Hypocrisy needs to be exposed and screened.
I whole heartedly agree! But you also have to include,
Anyone who harasses or in dangers an LE officer preforming their duties gets a mandatory 10 years in prison.
Anyone who harasses or endangers the property or family of a law enforcement officer 20 years to life.
Rep Hannan should read the news: a similar ban on Ice masks was passed in Los Angeles. But a federal judge just ruled that law as unconstitutional. Because under the US Constitution federal law, trump‘s any state or city or county or borough law.
Therefore, Rep Hannan is just wasting everybody’s time trying to pass a law that has already been ruled on constitutional.
Rep Hannan: the legislature has important work to do. Please stop wasting their time with your frivolous work fantasies. Besides, are you really so corrupt that you want to see the families of law-enforcement, being targeted by people who have already demonstrated they have no respect for law and order?
If she didn’t have double standards, she wouldn’t have any standards at all. Cheers –
Has Hannan explained why her violent antifa friends are always wearing masks? Also, just whom, exactly, does this ridiculous cow imagine would enforce such a law? Does she not realize that she could just go home, and never return to the legislature, ever, and Alaskans would be better off for it?