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A Bus Éireann passenger who wore a mask on his head “like a hat” and refused to wear it properly for “health reasons” was sentenced to two months in prison by a district court judge on Thursday.
After hearing evidence in the Castlebar court in a case against Andrew Heasman (41), Carrowmore, Knock, Co Mayo, Judge Fiona Lydon said she was satisfied that the State had met all the necessary ingredients to secure a conviction.
The judge sentenced the defendant to prison for the crime of not wearing a face mask on public transportation on Main Street, Ballyhaunis, on July 14.
It took into account a charge for breach of public order on the same date.
The defendant was accompanied in court, as a friend of McKenzie, by columnist, author and civil rights activist John Waters.
Garda Thomas Bowens told the court that the defendant refused to wear a mask properly when requested by the bus driver and that several passengers had gotten off the bus as a result.
Garda Bowens said he saw about 18 passengers outside the bus traveling from Dublin to Knock.
The garda witness said that when he got on the bus he explained the legislation to the defendant and told him that he was committing a crime under the Health Act 1947.
“He wore a mask on top of his head like a hat,” Garda Bowens testified. “I told him that there was a requirement that the mask cover the face, mouth and nose.”
Garda Bowens said the defendant recorded his interaction with him (garda) on his mobile phone and encouraged other passengers to film as well. He accused the garda of harassment, saying “I want to be left alone.”
‘Arresting me’
He added that when the defendant got off the bus, he told the driver: “There, I got off your fucking bus.”
After being handcuffed, the defendant began to shout loudly as he was being taken to a patrol car: “They are arresting me for not wearing a mask.”
As evidence, the defendant said that he told the gardaí that he was exempt from wearing a mask for health reasons. He said the garda had asked him for medical evidence, but replied that under data protection he was not required to provide that information.
The defendant said that his uncle was being buried that day and that he was traveling from Dublin for the funeral. He described the charges against him as “fabricated.”
The judge said that before the public health emergency his behavior had been “totally inappropriate.”
He has 24 prior convictions, most of them related to road traffic matters.
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