A county in Mississippi has made it temporarily illegal for anybody to dress up as a clown in public—at least until Halloween is over.
Officials in Kemper County have reacted to the creepy clown craze that has taken over most of the U.S. and other parts of the world by passing an ordinance Monday that makes it unlawful for people to wear a clown costume, a clown mask or even clown makeup in public, the Kemper County Messenger reports.
“It has really gotten out of hand,” Kemper County Board President Johnny Whitsett said of the sweeping phenomenon, according to the newspaper.
Violators face a $150 fine until the ordinance is no longer in effect Nov. 1.
More Must-Read Stories From TIME
- How to Help Victims of the Texas School Shooting
- TIME's 100 Most Influential People of 2022
- What the Buffalo Tragedy Has to Do With the Effort to Overturn Roe
- Column: The U.S. Failed Miserably on COVID-19. Canada Shows It Didn't Have to Be That Way
- N.Y. Will Soon Require Businesses to Post Salaries in Job Listings. Here's What Happened When Colorado Did It
- The 46 Most Anticipated Movies of Summer 2022
- ‘We Are in a Moment of Reckoning.’ Amanda Nguyen on Taking the Fight for Sexual Violence Survivors to the U.N.
Read More From TIME
