FBI agents handcuffed Alejandro Theodoro Orellana for allegedly “distributing face shields to suspected rioters” on Tuesday, U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli posted.
FBI agents handcuffed Alejandro Theodoro Orellana for allegedly “distributing face shields to suspected rioters” on Tuesday, U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli posted.
So, face shields are clear shields that cover your face. You’ll see really thin plastic ones in doctors sometimes (they were common during covid), and there are heavier ones for welders and such. Cops often wear them as part of their riot gear get-ups.
Thing is, the medical-type shields aren’t going to very useful during the LA protests, and the higher-grade ones that would be useful are pretty expensive to be just handing out to people. And then you come to this line in the article
So - masks. He was providing some kind of masks to people - surgical, N95, carnival, Halloween - hell, little ballroom masks on sticks or thin cloth Zorro masks. But I’m pretty sure that the prosecutor will decide the charges against him are overstated and drop the charges.
It’s mostly a tactic to get this guy off the streets for a bit because he was prepared more than they liked and was helping other demonstrators potentially hide their faces, and to give anyone else with similar ideas reason to pause before they do it themselves.
You can buy protective shields for grinding and what not for pretty cheap at places like Harbor Freight. I’m sure they’d hold up to rubber bullets just fine.
They said face shields first, masks second. I’d guess they just wanted to avoid repetition and chose a not so accurate word. Somewhere between medical and riot face shields are $10 harbor freight grinder/spark shields. They’re not going to stop a rubber bullet, but you might just keep your eye. If any small explosives get involved, it’d shield your face from debris. But it could be more Ike a mask to shield your face from cameras
The thin shields could also help against pepper spray. People going to protests where police violence is expected really should be wearing face (or at least eye) protection.