Stores nationwide have implemented safety precautions, including mandatory masks, to protect workers and shoppers from the novel coronavirus. Those opposed to these regulations, despite research proving the effectiveness of face coverings, continue to refuse wearing masks often making scenes in stores that are caught and shared on social media. Frontline workers are risking their lives each day with the possibility of contracting COVID-19, only to be met by these ignorant shoppers.
But the harassment doesn’t end there. Anti-maskers are taking their resistance to another level—falsely impersonating government agencies to legally threaten essential workers. In a viral TikTok video, two women, without masks, can be seen claiming to represent the “Freedom to Breathe Agency” while telling a grocery store supervisor in Orange County, California, that she could face legal action for requiring people to wear masks. Identified as Lenka Koloma, one of the maskless women and founder of the organization, said that they were “making sure that people’s constitutional rights, civil, and federal laws are not broken.”
The incident took place on Thursday after Liz Chavez, the supermarket’s supervisor, was informed by her colleagues that two women were in the store without masks. Chavez told BuzzFeed News that she deals with individuals who refuse to wear a mask amid the pandemic on a daily basis. She noted that despite clear signs in the store and a state mandate requiring masks to be worn in public, customers frequently argue against wearing masks. "They just give us all sorts of excuses for why they shouldn’t wear one," she said. "It happens all the time, I don’t know why it’s such a big deal. We have to wear them for our entire shift, they only have to wear them for the 10, 20 minutes they’re in the store."
But while she has experienced dealing with a number of customers who refuse to wear masks, the women she spoke to were different, Chavez said. "I went up to them like, 'Hey, in order to be inside the store you’re required to wear a mask,'" Chavez said. "They told me, 'No, we’re not required to wear a mask.'" The two maskless women wore badges that said “FTBA” and claimed they were from a government agency.
After Chavez told them that they must wear a mask in the store, they handed her a piece of paper that claimed she could face legal action for requesting people to wear masks. Chavez’s colleague recorded the exchange in which Koloma can be heard saying: “You personally need to take this to your manager because you personally can be sued for this, okay? You are putting yourself into major legal liability—you personally.”
According to BuzzFeed News, the paper said that Chavez could go to prison for up to three to five days in addition to facing a fine of $10,000 should she tell them to wear a mask without being a doctor. "They weren’t there to shop," Chavez said. "They honestly were probably just waiting for somebody to come up to them and ask them to wear a mask so they could do this."
The “Freedom to Breathe Agency” or “FTBA” is a fake agency that has previously garnered attention amid the pandemic. In June, the group was given a warning by the Department of Justice after it distributed “face mask exempt” cards. The cards claimed that wearing a mask not only put people at risk of mental and physical impairment but also violated rights granted to them by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). “Wearing a face mask posses a mental and/or physical risk to me. Under the Americans with Disability Act (ADA), I am not required to disclose my condition to you,” the cards read, according to The New York Times.
The Department of Justice confirmed that the cards and organization were both not endorsed by or affiliated with the Department. “Do not be fooled by the chicanery and misappropriation of the DOJ eagle,” U.S. Attorney Matthew Martin said in a statement. “These cards do not carry the force of law. The ‘Freedom to Breathe Agency,’ or ‘FTBA,’ is not a government agency.” With no website or location, the “agency” allegedly operates through a private Facebook group page.
While she declined to disclose what the medications were, Koloma told BuzzFeed News that she and the woman she was with "both have medical, health conditions and also religious beliefs that do not allow us to wear a mask.” In support of her argument that Chavez could face a lawsuit for telling someone to wear a mask, Koloma compared an essential worker telling someone to wear a mask to someone impersonating a medical doctor.
When asked if she was impersonating a state or federal agency, Koloma denied the allegations and argued for the agency’s legitimacy. "That’s absolutely false because we are a legitimate organization, we introduced ourselves as FTBA, the Freedom to Breathe Agency. There’s nothing illegal or fraudulent," she said.
While California law requires customers and employees to wear masks in public, many states still lack this health order. This puts essential and retail workers nationwide at a double risk, one of contracting COVID-19 and the other risking harm from individuals who retaliate against safety regulations employees are asked to enforce. "I just want to say people really need to be nice to these grocery workers, we work our butts off during this pandemic," Chavez told BuzzFeed News. "Just give us a little break, it’s just our store policies, we’re following the rules. We don’t need to be attacked every day."
