Daniel Chase, 63, of Palm Shores, Brevard County, Florida, United States was recently arrested. He was charged with trespassing and disorderly conduct.

Chase used to work for Northrop Grumman, a multinational aerospace and defense technology company headquartered in Falls Church, Virginia, USA. In August 2021, Chase was terminated from his job because he would not wear a mask, which he said makes him feel claustrophobic.

According to Chase, he went to the Melbourne Orlando International Airport in Melbourne, Brevard County to rent a car to drive his son, who is a U.S. Marine, back to his son’s duty station in North Carolina, USA on January 1, 2022. At around 6:00 p.m., the Palm Shores resident was standing at an Avis rental counter counter inside the airport terminal when he was approached by a police officer because he was not wearing a mask.

.

The officer informed Chase of the Transportation Security Administration mandate that requires airport visitors and airline passengers to wear masks amid the new coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. According to the officer, Chase yelled and screamed when advised that he could leave the airport if he refused to comply with the mask mandate.

That night, Chase was arrested and booked into the Brevard County Jail Complex in Cocoa, Brevard County, Florida. He was later released on $750 bond.

On February 1, 2022, Chase is expected to appear in court. He told Florida Today, “What is happening to our country?”

“You can’t even go in Florida to just do normal everyday business, being a law-abiding citizen, because I wasn’t wearing a mask?” Chase continued. “This is all just a control thing. I wasn’t complying properly enough.”