Colorado Man Refuses to Wear a Mask + Attacks Employee
A Colorado man was arrested after attacking an employee at a bar on Saturday in Golden, Colorado. The incident took place after the patron refused to wear a mask.
The man, 62-year-old John Roche, visited the Golden Moon Speakeasy in Golden, Colorado, and asked to sit at an empty table. The employee said that Roche could sit there, but that he had to wear a mask when he was not seated, in compliance with the current Colorado law.
It's unclear how the man was exactly provoked, but security footage shows Roche sitting at his table, then getting up and shoving the employee to the ground. The employee landed on a door jamb, damaging it.
Police then showed up and arrested the man, charging him with trespassing and harassment, as he refused to leave the bar following the incident.
Although the employee initially didn't want to press charges, he did after the owner of the bar, Stephen Gould, encouraged him to do so. Gould had this to say about the incident:
If he didn’t want to wear a mask, he’s more than welcome to go somewhere else. This is an adult, mature man, acting like a high school kid over being asked to wear a mask. It’s ridiculous, it’s juvenile, and for him to walk in and attack somebody, the guy needs to go to jail.
Roche is in fact facing jail time, as the charges carry a maximum fine of $2,650 and 180 days in jail each. Despite being charged with trespassing and harassment, Roche is not being charged with violating the state's mask ordinance.
[WKRG]