The American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Northern California filed a lawsuit Wednesday against Modesto and Police Chief Brandon Gillespie over the city’s “unconstitutional ordinance” that bans masks and personal safety gear at protests.
The complaint was filed in Stanislaus County Superior Court on behalf of the Pacific Media Workers Guild and three individual plaintiffs, one of whom was arrested for wearing a mask at the ICE Out rally on June 14, 2025.
The Pacific Media Workers Guild represents more than 1,000 newspaper, language and communications workers across Northern California, the Central Valley and Hawaii, including reporters at The Modesto Bee…