Uniformed Miami Cop Photographed in Pro-Trump Mask at Voting Site Will Be Punished

Tara C. Mahadevan
·2 min read

A photo of a uniformed Miami cop wearing a face mask with a pro-Trump slogan at a voting site has gone viral.

Now, Miami police chief Jorge Colina has said that the policeman, Officer Daniel Ubeda will be disciplined, though the department hasn’t yet decided how to punish him, the Miami Herald reports. It’s unclear if Ubeda was working on going to vote. But the person who just happened to snap the photo was Steve Simeonidis, chairman of the Miami-Dade Democratic Party.

Simeonidis—also an attorney—was passing by the voting site when he saw Ubeda “well within” the 150-foot barrier that cops and non-voters aren’t allowed to enter during an election, per state statute. Police aren’t allowed within that barrier unless they’re voting.

“He may have been going to vote. But he was in full uniform with the mask and a gun. That’s voter intimidation,” Simeonidis said, per the Herald. Simeonidis said Ubeda “laughed it off’ after he was asked about his face covering.

After Deputy Police Chief Ron Papier talked to Chief Colina, Papier said that Ubeda will face “appropriate disciplinary action.”

“Obviously this is a clear violation of our department policy regarding campaigning while on duty,” Papier said. “Additionally, the mask has offensive language, which is also a violation of department policy.”

The slogan on the mask read “Trump 2020” and “no more bullshit.”

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