Jorge Diaz Jr., a Black man, was arrested by Virginia cops for wearing a mask in public for his job. The man, who worked at Paramount Builders, a Virginia-based home improvement company, was returning from work when he was arrested by three cops on January 22 at his apartment complex. The Norfolk police officers claimed that a state law prohibited citizens from wearing masks in public.
However, they failed to acknowledge that the law excludes people wearing masks for safety reasons while on the job, which was the case here. The video of Diaz Jr.’s arrest was captured by a Black woman named Samira Brooks.
In the video, the man was heard saying, “I’m still on the clock at work! What are you doing? What the f— you doing?” The video was shared by the woman on her Facebook page and has since received over 357,000 views at the time of writing.
Virginia cops ignored exceptions to the law and arrested a Black contractor for safely doing his job.https://t.co/ZucQ81kRYf
— Atlanta Black Star (@ATLBlackStar) February 1, 2026
Brooks said, “He didn’t do anything but Walking While Black.” After the video caused quite a stir and was picked up by local media outlets, Norfolk police said that they would withdraw the charges against Diaz.
Brooks, who was clearly upset over the arrest of the Paramount Builders employee, said she is a nurse. She said that she debated with the cop who was arresting Diaz. However, the police insisted that she was wrong and asked her to “look up” the law.
“This young man was walking into his residence and he was arrested because the police asked him to pull down his mouth mask over his face,” Brooks said in the video. “It only cause he’s Black.” she lamented.
According to Atlanta Black Star, the arrest took place after Norfolk Police were called to a complaint of domestic violence. The incident allegedly took place inside one of the apartments at the complex Diaz Jr. was at. When the caller informed the cops that the suspect had fled the place, the officers’ attention was shifted to Diaz Jr. Although he had nothing to do with the incident and was just returning home from work, the Black man was cornered.
Ashleigh Marie VanDriesen, a Norfolk police officer, wrote in her affidavit, “While on another call for service, I saw a male walk by wearing a balaclava mask covering his mouth, nose, and hair. I asked the male to pull the mask down.”
“‘He Didn’t Do Anything But Walking While Black’: Black Man Arrested on Felony Charge for Wearing Safety Mask While on the Clock as Contractor, Video Shows” – Atlanta Black Star #SmartNews https://t.co/32FdzhbE1Y
— CC (concerned citizen). 💙🇺🇸🦅 (@Wille2k) February 1, 2026
“He briefly pulled it down, then pulled it back covering his mouth and nose. I told the male he could not wear the mask in public and asked for his ID. The male refused to provide ID. Male was arrested for 18.2-422,” added the officer.
However, if the police looked up the law, they could have spotted a major exemption: Engaged in professions, trades, employment, or other activities and wearing protective masks which are deemed necessary for the physical safety of the wearer or other persons. In this case, Diaz Jr. is definitely eligible for the exemption and therefore should not have been arrested by Norfolk police.
