Miami cop facing discipline after wearing Trump mask while in uniform at voting site

A Miami police officer in a pro-Trump mask at a voting site.
(Image credit: Screenshot/YouTube/Miami Herald)

A Miami police officer will face disciplinary action after he wore, while in uniform, a "Trump 2020" mask to an early voting site.

Steve Simeonidis, chairman of the Miami-Dade Democrats, tweeted a photo of the masked officer on Tuesday. Simeonidis called this an "egregious form of voter intimidation" and "a crime."

Miami Mayor Francis Suarez said the officer was at the Stephen P. Clark Government Center in downtown Miami to cast his ballot, and he violated departmental policy by wearing political signage in uniform, NBC News reports. "It's inappropriate, it's against departmental orders," Suarez said. "Police officers are supposed to be impartial, so irrespective of who the person was, whatever sign it would have been, it would have been problematic."

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Suarez said an investigation has been launched into the officer's visit to the polling place, and it's unclear if he was on duty. Officers are allowed to vote in uniform and while carrying their department-issued firearms. "One important fact is that the officer was voting," Suarez said. "Had he not been voting it would have been a much more serious situation." Catherine Garcia

Uniformed Miami cop spotted wearing pro-Trump mask - YouTube Uniformed Miami cop spotted wearing pro-Trump mask - YouTube
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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.