When an elderly woman told the man that she wished the police could fine him for not wearing a mask, he began mocking her and shouting at her.
Video of a belligerent passenger yelling into the face of an older woman during a subway ride is causing an uproar today. The woman, who was wearing a mask in the video, says she wants the man to be fined for going maskless.
With a squealing voice, the man proceeded to mock her. Then he shouted “1776” in her face and ordered her to take a seat.
“Respect your elders,” the woman said.
“I respect freedom,” the man responded.
When other riders intervened, he berated them as well.
Naveh Halperin recorded the shocking video.
“It was very obviously mind-blowing seeing him basically spitting in this woman’s face, on top of not wearing a mask,” Halperin said.
Reaction on social media has been swift.
“How low can a human being go when they [harass] a senior citizen?” one comment said.
“He needs to go to jail,” another said.
Citizen sleuths on TikTok went to town, telling their followers they needed help finding the man.
“I did what any sane person would do and found your mom and sister and told them what you did,” one TikToker said in a video. She identified the man as a 27-year-old resident of Richmond, Virginia, who most recently worked at CarMax.
"This individual has not worked for our company since May 2021," CarMax said in a statement. "At CarMax, we value treating everyone with respect and this behavior does not represent our values."
The acting chairman of the Metropolitan Transit Authority had harsh words for the anti-masker.
“This is outrageous. No. 1, the guy is a jerk,” Janno Lieber said, calling the incident an "egregious violation of basic human respect."
