According to the Chesapeake, Virginia, city code, anyone over the age of 12 who tricks-or-treats is guilty of a misdemeanor and could face a fine of up to $100, be jailed for up to six months or face both a fine and jail time. Overkill much?
— Ferg (@christoferguson) October 8, 2018
In addition, the Chesapeake city code states that no matter the age of the participants, anyone caught trick-or-treating after 8 p.m. could be slapped with a fine between $25 and $100, 30 days behind bars or both.
— Teel James Glenn (@teeljamesglenn) October 8, 2018
Similarly, in Newport, trick-or-treating is permitted for anyone in seventh grade or below, and any child age 12 or younger. However, anyone else who partakes in the activity is guilty of a Class 4 misdemeanor. Any parents or guardians accompanying their kids trick-or-treating are not permitted to wear masks of any type, according to the Newport code. Perhaps that rule is to prevent the adults from succumbing to the temptation of trick-or-treating?
— Central Jersey Moms (@CentralNJMoms) October 8, 2018
Similar codes exist in the Virginia towns of Portsmouth, Norfolk and Suffolk.
Gee, I wonder if these weird trick-or-treating laws will be used to disproportionately police black children.
— Andrew Thaler (but maybe a werewolf or something) (@DrAndrewThaler) October 9, 2018
And of course, Twitter agrees that there sure seems to be nothing scarier than Halloween laws in Virginia.