An anti-mask gym patron assaulted a trainer at Anytime Fitness in Chicago and caused a major scene before being arrested for violating COVID protocols on Thursday. And his tantrum was caught on video (below) that's now going viral across social media.
“It's a joke. You're ruining my f**king country,” the male gym “Karen” yelled at the trainer and other members before aggressively poking and pushing the trainer, who was trying to keep the anti-masker away from the other members.
Trainer Adrian Aguilar wrote on Facebook that he spotted the maskless gym patron wandering around violating the gym's mask policy.
Wrote Aguilar: “As I approached him, his mask was at his throat, not near his face. I said, ‘yo! I need you to put your mask up in the building, man.' He whirled around and immediately said I was too close to him and that I was within 6 feet of him. I don't think I was and according to footage, I wasn't, but like a normal human I took a big step backwards and said, ‘sorry about that! I need you to put your mask up if you're in the building.'”
Aguilar said the man then launched into the unhinged tirade and refused to put his mask on. The gym's owner was called and the gym patron was told his membership had been revoked and he had to leave. A small crowd of members had gathered.
“I then went and positioned myself between the members and the trouble, just in case,” wrote Aguilar.
“Hooboy he REALLY didn't like that,” added Aguilar. “That was what led to this video. I kept far from him and continuously kept my hands high or behind my back to indicate that I meant him no harm. I also continuously told him, ‘I'm not going to touch you or do anything to you.' Despite all of that, he closed the distance and got physical. At some point, he called the cops himself and told them that I was a threat and a danger and that he didn't feel safe in my presence…
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Aguilar said that when police arrived the gym patron tried to convince them that he was the victim, but the cops weren't persuaded given the video evidence.
Wrote Aguilar: “Eventually, a combination of us filing a report for battery against me, and trespassing against the gym (the owner) he was arrested and led out of the gym around 5:15pm. It's worth nothing that on his way out, in the most low-budget, Scooby-Doo villain, hilarious way, he said ‘This isn't over…' It's also worth noting that WHILE I was writing that sentence, he called the gym and threatened me. Just now! In real time! Very cool. Anyway, his name is Austin Tony Myers and that is all I care to know. Do with that information what you will. I think he is a very sick individual and I hope that he receives some help from somewhere, very soon.”
Another stream of the same video.
