Court rules that refusing to mask during pandemic is not protected by First Amendment

TRENTON — A federal court ruled this week that refusing to wear masks to school board meetings during the COVID-19 pandemic was not protected free speech under the First Amendment. Two New Jersey residents filed claims to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals and said they faced retaliation from school officials, school board members and police in Freehold Township and Cranford after they refused to wear masks to school board meetings while mask mandates were in place. George Falcone of Freehold Township and Gwyneth Murray-Nolan of Cranford, Union County, argued...