By Ryan Ledendecker
Mask shaming was taken to a whole new level this week in Minnesota after a deranged, pro-mask Nazi ended up pulling a gun on a manager of a gym after the nutjob spotted several gym members not wearing masks while they worked out.
According to Breibart, the mask enforcer, Michael Florhaug, was arrested and hauled away after the potentially deadly encounter at LA Fitness in Maplewood, Minnesota.
But one thing Florhaug wasnât counting on was that assistant manager Mike Olson, an Iraqi War veteran, had the operational skills to disarm the whackjob. Not only did Olson take the manâs gun, he also took the weirdo to the ground and deprived his weapon of any ammunition.
âI just kind of knew that it had to be done,â said Olson. âIt didnât take much thinking. It was more of a reaction.â
Florhaug was charged with âassault with a dangerous weapon,â which will likely lead to jail time if heâs properly convicted.
How the situation developed is even more bizarre. Florhaug apparently entered the gym â heâs not a member â and began criticizing the front-desk employee for the number of gym-goers who were working out without a mask. Olson, purely in a tongue-in-cheek manner, informed Florhaug that the gym wasnât able to afford their own mask enforcement division but suggested Florhaug âwas welcome to pay an employee out of his own pocket to enforce the mask rules.â
Olson said he was very clearly kidding with the man after making the comment, as a method to deescalate the situation.
Thatâs when Florhaugh flew off the handle, calling Olson âdumbâ and then threatened to canvas the entire gym and snap photos of all the maskless members. Olson intervened and thatâs when Florhaug pulled the gun on him, only to put the gun away when Olson backed off a little.
But it was at that point that Olsonâs military instincts kicked in, saying he âthought Florhaug was going to shoot members who didnât have masks on,â and immediately tackled the deranged man in true heroâs fashion. He was able to secure Florhaugâs firearms and removed all of the ammunition.
Maplewood police investigative Sgt. Joe Steiner praised Olson for his quick and effective maneuvering to remove the threat, saying the gym manager did âa good job.â
Of course, after being arrested, Florhaug claimed that he merely âflashedâ the gun, as if that was no big deal in itself. He also wore a mask during the entire encounter.
Thank God for men like Olson, who arenât afraid to use their training and sheepdog instinct to protect innocent civilians from harm. This is yet another example of how dangerous it is to force people to wear masks against their will, as it sometimes empowers morons like Florhaugh to believe they have the right to enforce such mandates themselves.