Viral Mask Mandate Fight Video Sparks Fury, but There's One Major Problem

Video of a fight taking place outside an Ace Hardware store in Seattle, reportedly because a customer was refusing to wear a mask, has gone viral on social media despite it being recorded more than two years ago.

The incident took place at the Lake City Plaza in June 2021, when many businesses still operated masking requirements due to the coronavirus pandemic. Over the past week, the video has been repeatedly posted on X, formerly Twitter, by users who fail to mention the footage is old, racking up more than three million views.

The emergence of two new strains of COVID-19 has sparked fears among some online, including conservatives, that health restrictions such as mask requirements in shops could be reintroduced.

However, in an interview with the BBC, Anthony Fauci, formerly chief medical advisor to the president, insisted there's "not going to be the tsunami of cases that we've seen" during the height of the pandemic as vaccination or prior infection has given much of the population some immunity. On Friday, a new law took effect in Texas, banning the enforcement of mask-wearing at most government institutions, after it was signed into law by Governor Greg Abbott in June.

In the Ace Hardware store footage from Seattle, a man wearing a mask is seen pushing another man out of the shop using a baseball bat, before it is dropped and the two men exchange punches and grapple on the floor whilst the cameraman shouts insults.

On Wednesday, it was re-uploaded by the 'Fight Mate' X account where it received 2.4 million views, with the caption: "Over a Mask Mandate in Seattle Ace Hardware..."

Warning: Video contains strong language.

The following day, Amiri King, a self-styled "cultural commentator" with over 180,000 X followers, also posted it commenting: "Ace Hardware employees in Seattle attack a customer for refusing to wear a mask." This clip was viewed more than 636,000 times and received over 2,900 likes.

It was uploaded again on Friday by Stew Peters, a video producer with 411,000 X followers who has been accused of promoting COVID-19 conspiracy theories. This clip received 48,000 views with Peters commenting: "Employees at the Ace Hardware in Seattle will physically assault you with a baseball bat if you don't comply with their FAKE mask mandate."

Notably, none of the three X accounts made clear the video had been filmed more than two years ago.

However, one X user did respond to Peters pointing out the video was old, writing: "This video is more than 2 years old. I've been to that Ace many times and always received excellent customer service.

"This customer got into a yelling match in the store, refused to put on a mask, like his friend had on, used vulgarity, and left. He then tried to get back into the store and was told not to come inside. At that point, it becomes trespassing."

Newsweek has contacted the Ace Hardware store for comment by email and telephone.

After the original incident in 2021, Bobby Dixon, who filmed the altercation and was with the maskless man who tried to enter the store, discussed the case on KTTH Radio Seattle.

He said: "I wasn't threatening, I never made any threats, and neither did my friend. I never touched the dude until he came at me, and I was just trying to defend myself."

Dixon said the confrontation began after "the dude at the counter started running his mouth, being pretty vulgar, and so my buddy started cussing."

Rantz said he filed a report with the Seattle Police Department, though according to KOMO News, the store worker also made a report claiming he had been assaulted.