DEERFIELD BEACH, Fla. — Two men are accused of posing as U.S. marshals at a South Florida hotel in an attempt to avoid wearing face masks, according to a federal complaint.
Gary Brummett, 81, and Walter Wayne Brown Jr., 53, were arrested Feb. 11 and charged with impersonating a federal officer, according to the Broward County Sheriff’s Office’s online booking records.
The two men were at the Wyndham Deerfield Beach Resort on Feb. 11, and Brummett went to the front desk to ask for coffee, the Sun-Sentinel reported. According to the federal complaint, filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, the person working at the desk asked Brummett to wear a mask while walking around the desk. Brummett allegedly told the worker he had a medical exemption and showed the clerk a laminated card, court records show.
A hotel manager then joined the discussion and told Brummett it was the business’ policy for people to wear masks in public areas, WPEC reported.
Men accused of posing as US marshals to get out of wearing masks https://t.co/9SKESR6W8N pic.twitter.com/4FWlOgW32d
— South Florida Sun Sentinel (@SunSentinel) February 17, 2021
According to the federal complaint, Brummett pointed toward his belt badge and allegedly said, “Do you know what this means? I’m a U.S. marshal and can have you arrested if you force me to wear a mask.”
The worker at the front desk responded that her cousin is a U.S. marshal and would not exhibit that kind of conduct, the Sun-Sentinel reported.
On Feb. 9, hotel employees had a similar incident with Brown Jr. when he first checked into the hotel, according to the federal complaint.
One employee gave Brown Jr. a mask and asked him to wear it, the Sun-Sentinel reported. However, Brown Jr. said he was a federal agent and did not have to wear one, pointing to a badge on his belt and a card around his neck, the newspaper reported.
On Feb. 10, Brown Jr. returned to the front desk to extend his stay and was not wearing a mask, according to the complaint. When the manager asked him to wear a mask again, Brown Jr. allegedly threatened to have the employee arrested.
On Feb. 11, authorities found the two men dining in one of the resorts.
Both men wore “authentic appearing” circular badges that read “Cherokee Nation Marshal,” according to the complaint. They gave police ID cards identifying them as members of the Aniyvwiya Tribal Nation, according to the complaint.
Personnel checks revealed that neither man had ever been employees of the U.S. Marshals Service or the Cherokee Nation Marshal Service, according to the complaint.
Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. told the Sun-Sentinel that both men are not members of his tribe.
“The ‘Aniyvwiya Tribal Nation’ is not a federally recognized tribe nor affiliated in any way with the Cherokee Nation,” Hoskin told the newspaper.
Both men are being held without bail at the Broward County Jail.
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Cox Media Group
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