Police: Refusal to wear mask sparked fight at Keene brewery last month

Caleb Symons, The Keene Sentinel, N.H.
·2 min read

Apr. 19—Two customers at a Keene business got into a violent altercation late last month after one of them refused to wear a mask, police say. Part of the fight was captured in a video, which was put online Sunday and drew thousands of comments before being taken down.

The March 27 incident began when a Springfield, Vt., man entered Branch and Blade Brewing without a mask, according to Keene police Lt. Steven Tenney.

Employees at the Bradco Street brewery — which requires patrons to wear face coverings when they aren't seated — asked the man to either put on a mask or leave, Tenney said. Another customer, a Keene resident, started arguing with the unmasked man over the man's refusal to wear a mask, also telling him to leave, Tenney said.

Both the city of Keene and New Hampshire required people to wear masks in public spaces at the time in an effort to prevent the spread of COVID-19, though Gov. Chris Sununu lifted the state mandate last week. (Keene officials are scheduled to review the city's ordinance, which remains in effect, on Wednesday.)

The Branch and Blade customers' argument escalated into a fight in which punches were thrown, according to Tenney. Brewery staff intervened to break it up, he said.

The video of the incident, which was posted Sunday on the website Vimeo, showed at least one Branch and Blade employee attempting to forcefully remove the unmasked man from inside the brewery as the man resisted. The unmasked man was pushed outside at one point but re-entered the building, causing further commotion, it showed.

The video drew more than 3,000 comments on the online chat forum Reddit. It was removed from Vimeo Sunday evening.

Branch and Blade co-owner Trevor Bonnette declined to comment on the incident.

Keene police responded to the brewery following the altercation, but neither of the men involved wanted to press charges, according to Tenney. However, the unmasked Vermont man was served a trespassing letter for refusing Branch and Blade employees' requests that he leave the premises, he said.

Caleb Symons can be reached at 352-1234, extension 1420, or csymons@keenesentinel.com. Follow him on Twitter @CalebSymonsKS.

Recommended Stories

  • Teen girl still missing after two weeks, Richland County Sheriff’s Department says

    Anyone who has seen 15-year-old Sanaa Amenhotep is asked to call 911.

  • The danger of vaccine hesitancy becoming political

    Data: CDC and New York Times; Chart: Will Chase/AxiosThe counties with the most vaccine-hesitant residents generally also voted for Donald Trump in 2020 by large margins, whereas the counties with the lowest levels of hesitancy generally also had fewer Trump voters. Why it matters: Your politics don't have anything to do with whether you're vulnerable to the coronavirus if you remain unvaccinated. Stay on top of the latest market trends and economic insights with Axios Markets. Subscribe for freeIn fact, many counties with high levels of vaccine hesitancy — particularly in the South — are also considered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to be highly socially vulnerable based on factors like poverty, lack of access to transportation and crowded housing.Driving the news: More than half of U.S. adults have now received at least one dose of the vaccine, a remarkable milestone.But in some states, appointments are going unfilled and unused doses are starting to pile up — potentially a sign that demand is decreasing. Around one-fifth of Americans say they definitely won't get a vaccine or only will if required to, and another 17% say they want to "wait and see" before getting a shot, per KFF.The big picture: The groups most likely to say they definitely won't get a vaccine are Republicans and rural residents.But experts caution that it's important not to oversimplify the narrative. For example, many ruby-red Southern states have large Black populations as well as white Republicans. Black Americans are among the most likely groups to say they want to "wait and see" before getting the vaccine, and they may also face access barriers.Between the lines: Plenty of other American adults who haven't yet gotten their shots are planning to — they just don't feel particularly urgent about it. Others are still on the fence. Overuse of the "vaccine hesitancy" label could end up backfiring. “What I'm really worried about is building up this identity of, ‘if you're a Republican, you don’t want the vaccine.’ I think a) that’s not correct and b) it's really, really harmful,” said Ashish Jha, dean of the Brown University School of Public Health.And conflating slow vaccination rates, high hesitancy rates and political leanings may paper over access issues. “It could be that people who believe in Trump and voted for Trump don’t want to get vaccinated. It could also be that those places did a lousy job making vaccines available," Jha said. What we're watching: The federal government is currently allocating vaccines to states based on population. This strategy may no longer make the most sense, although vaccine supply is likely not going to be a problem in any state in the near-term future.“Right now, some states need more vaccines, and other states need more help with getting the vaccines they have out. In two weeks every state will need help getting the vaccines they have out," Jha said. “By early May, the eager crowd will be done everywhere. I would say the federal government should start to help states solve that," he added.More from Axios: Sign up to get the latest market trends with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free

  • Climate change threatens S.Korea's 'sea women'

    "I'm Jin So-hee, 28years old, and the youngest 'haenyeo' on Geoje Island."South Korean haenyeo, or ‘sea women,’ like So-hee spend their days free diving to the seabed.. to collect mollusks, seaweed, and other marine life to sell at local markets.But their centuries-old livelihood is under threat from climate change, environmental pollution and advances in fishing practices.JIN SWIMMING, COLLECTING SEA CUCUMBERS, COMING TO SURFACE AND SAYING (Korean): "This is the biggest one, what do we do?" JIN'S PARTNER, WOO JUNG-MIN: "We should still catch them though. There aren't any (bigger ones)."JIN SO-HEE: "The boss is going to be mad. He told us to bring in really big ones today."The vast majority of living haenyeo are now over the age of 70.But So-hee and her 35-year-old partner Woo Jung-min are on a mission to keep their tradition alive and salvage their seas.They've set up a YouTube channel – called ‘Modern Sea Women’ - chronicling their lives and work will help their plight."Though our YouTube channel, I hope the culture of haenyeo will be preserved and will be passed on (to the next generation). And I hope subscribers have more awareness on the environment preservation.''Every year the waters off the rocky shore of Geoje Island are a little less icy - warming as much as 2.6 times more than the world average, changing the undersea habitat and casting doubt on the future of the haenyeo.Since 2011 the South Korean government has been working to reverse the ocean desertification caused by climate change.The Marine Forest Creation Project involves planting new seaweed, which helps absorb carbon dioxide from the water, and removing the invasive sea urchins that eat the marine plant. Jeon Byung-hee is an official with the Korea Fisheries Resources Agency's Ecological Restoration Division."If seaweeds disappear, it takes away a source of food for animals, spawning grounds, and habitats. And this leads to a decreased amount of sea life and resources and eventually ruins the marine ecosystem."With less seaweed, which the haenyeo also harvest as food, the women increasingly have to dive deeper. It’s becoming more physically challenging and dangerous ever year – especially for the older divers like 86-year-old Ko Bok-hwa. (SOUNDBITE) (Korean) 86-YEAR-OLD HAENYEO, KO BOK-HWA, SAYING:"In the past? compared to the past (when I began the job), the amount is just one-tenth. It wasn't good today."So-hee says she makes half the amount of money that she did last year and finds more golf balls than sea cucumbers. She worries that next year her income won’t be enough to put food on the table or that her job could disappear altogether because of climate change.But the haenyeo will keep on diving, while they still can."I'll keep working unless I'm sick and my wish is for the sea life to live until then so I can continue this work."

  • Man who drove through Detroit crime scene shooting at officer shot dead

    As police were investigating a shooting and car crash, a man drove through the crime scene, firing a gun out of the vehicle, police say.

  • Doctor charged with trying to hire hitmen off the dark web to kidnap his wife

    Dr Ronald Craig Ilg is accused of seeking someone to abduct his spouse, drug her with heroin, and force her to drop divorce proceedings against him

  • Black reporter arrested during Daunte Wright protest: ‘They want to silence the media because we’re shining light in dark places’

    Journalism is Not a Crime: Journalist Harry Colbert tells Andrew Buncombe he feared for safety of gridlocked driver

  • What does India’s addition to the red list mean for travel?

    Arrivals from India after 4am on Friday 23 April will have to quarantine in a hotel for 11 nights

  • Whitmer: Michigan Supreme Court, Legislature partly to blame for COVID-19 surge

    Whitmer's statements on "Meet the Press" mark a change from remarks she made immediately following the October ruling by the Michigan Supreme Court.

  • IBD 50 Stocks To Watch: After Outpacing Market, Atkore Completes Base Ahead Of Q2 Earnings

    Power infrastructure play Atkore, an IBD 50 Stocks To Watch company, is less than 5% below a flat base buy point at 75.70, with its fiscal Q2 earnings due.

  • Nampa police are investigating a Sunday stabbing, asking for public’s help

    Two people were injured during the incident.

  • Attorney: Accusations against Texans QB based on lies

    An attorney for Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson on Monday accused the 22 women who have filed lawsuits alleging they were sexually assaulted or harassed by the NFL player during massages of lying, claiming their assertions are based on “an avalanche of false accusations.” The statement by Watson’s attorney, Rusty Hardin, comes after the NFL player’s legal team filed in court its initial response to the lawsuits, alleging that eight of the women bragged about giving him massages and five “wanted to get money out of Mr. Watson.” Tony Buzbee, the attorney for the 22 women, called the claims in the initial response by Watson’s legal team “weak and vague allegations” that are “demonstrably false.”

  • 'Afraid to visit America': Asian leaders urge US to stop violence as citizens reexamine pro-American views

    Asia, a top source of foreign students in the USA, has watched in horror as Asian Americans face violent attacks and racist discrimination.

  • Watch a disgruntled Tesla owner jump on top of a car at the Shanghai auto show

    The woman yelled about Tesla cars having defective brakes before being dragged away by security, several news outlets reported.

  • No man-to-man for Prince Charles and Harry as Duke heads back to US

    The Duke of Sussex will return to California without having a private meeting with his father, The Telegraph understands. Many family members had hoped the pair would take the opportunity to spend some time together alone, to air their differences face to face. But despite a 10,000-mile round trip, the Duke was either unable, or unwilling, to pin down the Prince of Wales, who is still coming to terms with the death of his father. While the Duke’s travel plans have not been disclosed, he is thought likely to return home to his pregnant wife, the Duchess of Sussex, 39, and their son Archie, who turns two next month, within the next day or two. The lack of any time spent with his father suggests that feelings over his Oprah Winfrey interview are still running high and the fallout remains raw.

  • Stunning video of the Ingenuity helicopter lifting off, flying, and landing on Mars gave its NASA team 'goosebumps'

    Ingenuity's first flight was "flawless" and "absolutely beautiful," the NASA team said. The helicopter could power up again on Thursday.

  • Philippines' Duterte would send navy ships in South China Sea to assert claim over resources

    Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said on Monday he was prepared to send his military ships in the South China Sea to "stake a claim" over oil and mineral resources in the disputed part of the strategic waterway. With some critics complaining Duterte had gone soft by refusing to push Beijing to comply with an arbitration ruling, he said the public can be assured he would assert the country's claims to resources like oil and minerals in the South China Sea. Duterte has sought to build an alliance with China and has been reluctant to confront its leadership, having been promised billions of dollars of loans and investments, much of which have yet to materialise, frustrating nationalists.

  • Montana man dies following attack by grizzly bear

    Investigators later shot and killed male bear near site of mauling

  • Ben Higgins says it was 'incredibly courageous' of 'Bachelorette' winner Zac Clark to open up about his drug addiction on the show

    Ben Higgins was also addicted to painkillers in the past, but didn't talk about it during his season of "The Bachelor."

  • Rihanna's secret to macaroni and cheese is ketchup, mustard, and pepper sauce - and it's surprisingly tasty

    Rihanna's macaroni and cheese is a quick and hassle-free recipe that takes less than an hour to make at home.

  • The war against Russia's spies just cost Putin billions from a cancelled nuclear contract

    "Losing this many intelligence officers will reduce the amount of activity and capabilities of the Russians," said the central European official.