Florida authorities say two men pretended to be US Marshals to avoid wearing masks

Florida authorities have arrested two men who allegedly pretended to be U.S. Marshals to avoid wearing masks. 

Walter Wayne Brown Jr. and Gary Brummett were arrested on Feb. 11 for impersonating a federal officer after a hotel employee became suspicious and called the cops, the South Florida Sun Sentinel reported. 

The two men were carrying fake Marshal badges that said they were “Cherokee Nation Marshal.” They reportedly told hotel employees that they would be arrested if they tried to make them wear a mask, according to a complaint. 

They wore the badges on their belt while wearing fake cards around their neck that said they were exempt from wearing a mask.

My office has received reports of individuals attempting to use a “Face Mask Exempt Card” to evade Palm Beach County’s mandatory mask order.

Please note that such cards have NO legal authority and businesses should not alter their mask policies based on them. 1/ pic.twitter.com/5Oc0s1wAJQ

— Dave Aronberg (@aronberg) July 10, 2020

When Brown. Jr checked into the hotel on Feb. 9, he showed the fake card and badge when asked to wear a mask and said he did not need to wear a mask as a federal agent, said the complaint according to the Sun Sentinel.

Brown Jr. also threatened to arrest an employee on Feb. 10 when he was asked again to wear a mask. 

On Feb. 11 when Brummett was at the front desk, he showed the fake medical exempt card to attempt to get out of wearing a mask. When the hotel manager asked him again, he showed the fake U.S. Marshal badge to get out of it. 

Once police and a real U.S. Marshal arrived, the two men were arrested.

Although masks have been shown to help slow the spread of the coronavirus, many are opposed to wearing them claiming they are not effective and that businesses don’t have a right to make them wear a mask.