Justice Department sues Denver over ban on masks for law enforcement officers

The Justice Department filed the lawsuit on October 8, the latest front in the administration's fight with sanctuary leaning cities over immigration enforcement. Denver's ordinance, passed in March, allows local police to arrest or cite officers who wear masks on duty, a measure aimed squarely at masked federal immigration agents conducting operations in the city.

The DOJ argues the ban violates the Constitution's Supremacy Clause and puts federal officers in danger by stripping them of a safety measure used against doxxing and retaliation. City attorneys say Denver has the right to regulate its own streets and will defend the law in court.

Notably, the ordinance has been enforced exactly zero times since it passed, a fact that may complicate any claim of urgent harm on either side. The case joins a growing stack of federal lawsuits testing how far cities can go in resisting Washington's immigration crackdown.