A North Carolina bill called “Unmasking Mobs and Criminals,” would repeal an exemption created during the COVID-19 pandemic

The 1953 law makes it a fourth-degree felony for two or more people to commit a misdemeanor “while wearing white caps, masks, or other disguise.”

A bill proposing harsher punishments against protesters comes as protests over the Israel-Hamas conflict have been staged on college campuses in recent months. The idea met no resistance in a state Senate committee Tuesday.

Republicans in the state Senate want to crack down on recent protests by restricting the use of masks in public. The new bill also would create a felony offense for blocking traffic.