Deschutes DA Hummel won’t file charges in downtown Bend anti-mask protest

Weighs governor's COVID-19 rules and First Amendment rights

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) – Participants in a recent downtown Bend protest against Gov. Kate Brown’s two-week “freeze” won’t be charged with violating her order related to wearing masks, as they were exercising their First Amendment rights, Deschutes County District Attorney John Hummel said Tuesday.

On Saturday, Nov. 21, starting around noon, four people called the police to report a large gathering of people on a street corner in downtown Bend who were not wearing masks, in apparent violation of Gov. Brown's order related to COVID-19. 

Police responded around 2:30 p.m., but the crowd had dispersed, Hummel said. 

Hummel said police learned this was an organized protest of Gov. Brown's mandate to wear masks. Police contacted the organizer of the event (he made a Facebook page for the event) and interviewed him.  

The event organizer told the police he thinks the governor’s mask mandate is unconstitutional and that he does not believe in the efficacy of mask wearing.  He acknowledged people were not wearing masks at the event and stated it was an individual choice whether to wear a mask, the DA said.

The matter was referred to Hummel's office, and he said Tuesday he declined the matter for prosecution, issuing this statement: 

“The organizer of this event is incorrect: The governor’s mask mandate is constitutionally sound.  However, if the mandate is applied to situations in which the public gathers to exercise a constitutional right (in this case, to assemble to redress their government), it would create a conflict between the lawful mask law and the constitutional right that is being exercised. 

"How should such legal conflicts be resolved?  As long as people who gather to exercise a constitutional right are not violent or destructive when doing so, I generally defer to protecting their constitutional rights over the enforcement of any statutory violations they may commit while exercising their rights.

"My philosophy is content neutral, meaning it applies to people who gather for 'liberal' causes and to people who gather for 'conservative' causes.

"I encourage people to wear masks and maintain social distance so we can save lives, save businesses, and save parents’ sanity by getting kids back to school," Hummel concluded.