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Man in viral Florida Costco video defends himself after outburst during face mask argument

The man captured in a viral video that showed him yelling at another customer during an argument about face masks at a Florida Costco Wholesale Club says the video does not show the full story.

Daniel Maples was recorded yelling “I feel threatened!” and “Back up! Threaten me again!” while advancing toward the person recording the video June 27 at the Gulf Coast Town Center Costco in Fort Myers.

Since the video went viral, Maples said he has received hundreds of threatening texts, emails and voicemails, some threatening his son’s life, while others have published the address of his home online.

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“All I'm really asking for is a second chance at a first impression for people to know the real me and not take 15 seconds of my life and turn me into a demon,” Maples said in an interview with the Fort Myers News-Press, part of the USA TODAY Network.

Before the incident, Maples worked for Ted Todd Insurance in Fort Myers. He was fired from his job on Tuesday, according to a tweet from the company where he worked since 2016.

Costco started requiring masks for shoppers in early May. More companies also are making face coverings a requirement as viral videos of shoppers' tirades and confrontations over being asked to wear then during the COVID-19 pandemic erupt.

Starbucks will require customers wear face masks at locations nationwide starting July 15.

The Retail Industry Leaders Association, which represents Walmart, Target, Best Buy, Walgreens, Home Depot and other major chains, is asking governors to mandate masks across the nation.

'I get claustrophobic'

Maples said he doesn’t like wearing a mask because it’s uncomfortable.

“After a while I start to feel like I'm suffocating. I get claustrophobic and that's an issue for me,” Maples said. “I prefer not wear the mask. It's something that causes me a lot of distress.”

Infectious disease experts say wearing a mask is one of the best actions, along with social distancing and hand washing, to stop the spread of COVID-19.

Maples said there also was an unrecorded interaction between him and the man who recorded the video.

“I never yelled at an old lady,” Maples said. “I remember someone saying something to me about 'I have cancer, I have cancer.' I replied, 'Well my father died of cancer,'" he said. "I didn't understand why she was yelling at me about that.”

During the interaction that wasn’t recorded, Maples said he was confronted by multiple people for not wearing a mask in the store.

"It was like the mob was gathering around me and I felt threatened," Maples said. "I wanted to remove myself from the situation and I did.”

He walked away from the confrontation to meet his party at the front of the store when the man who recorded the video came toward him in an aggressive manner with his phone out, Maples said.

After the incident, Maples said he was asked to leave the store by a Costco employee and he complied.

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'It's a bigger issue than me'

When asked why he didn’t shop at a store without a mask policy if he didn’t want to follow the rule, Maples said he went to Costco as a favor for a friend.

“I had no intentions of being there long,” Maples said. “I saw other shoppers not wearing masks. I saw the Costco employees not wearing masks. I keep my distance. I try to be polite if I'm not wearing a mask and I understand people are sensitive.”

What was captured in the video was a moment of pure passion and emotion, Maples said, and he couldn’t say why he advanced toward the man recording the video if he felt threatened.

“In that moment I was scared. I'm not a fighter, I'm not a person that deals with this on a daily basis," he said. "I don't know how to manage this.”

After the incident, Maples said his company did not do a thorough investigation before deciding to fire him.

Maples said he wasn't an avid Costco shopper to begin with and doesn’t have plans to return to the store.

What has happened to him since the incident is an example of a larger societal issue in which information that isn’t necessarily correct spreads online quickly, Maples said.

“It's a bigger issue than me,” Maples said. “It's about where are we going, is this OK and when does it stop.”

Roy Foxall, a Fort Myers attorney representing Maples, said he isn’t sure if he and Maples will take any legal action. Law enforcement was not involved in the incident.

If legal action were to be taken against anyone, it would be against Maples’ former employer, Foxall said.

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Contributing: Kelly Tyko, USA TODAY

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Face mask tirades: Man in Fort Myers Costco video defends himself