Todd Blanche
Role at the time: Acting U.S. attorney general
Condemned
Statement summary
Announcing DOJ's suit against the mask and identification rules and a separate cooperation law, Blanche says Virginia's policies regulate the federal government and are designed to create risk for federal agents.
“Virginia’s anti-law enforcement policies regulate the federal government and are designed to create risk for our agents. These laws cannot stand.”
Read the official statement (opens in a new tab)DOJ challenges Virginia's officer-mask and identification lawBlanche quotation and description of the complaint
DOJ invokes federal authority and officer safety in challenging the state's rules. The page is dated June 11, 2026 and marked updated October 20, 2026. The quotation is taken from that updated version.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Why we used this label
Relative to Virginia's mask and identification rules, Blanche rejects their legitimacy and says they are designed to create risk for federal agents. His statement also covers the separate cooperation law.