A customer who refused to wear a mask at a Maryland restaurant now has a one-year ban after he spat on an employee.

The altercation happened Friday afternoon at Brew Belly Kitchen & Sudhaus in Olney. The customer was told to cover his face and got into a verbal argument, police say. The man then purposely spat on the employee, police say.

The restaurant’s owner, Dave Calkins, said in a Facebook post that, “we will not tolerate this dangerous and irresponsible behavior in our restaurant, especially during a public health emergency.

“Policing the community to wear a mask is not something we are comfortable with, nor experience at, but we realize unfortunately this is the new norm.”

Montgomery County Police gave the man a trespass notice, which means he can’t return to the restaurant for a year. If he returns, he will be arrested for trespassing, according to police.

WTOP first reported the news.

Councilmember Tom Hucker wrote on Twitter that he believes the customer should’ve been charged with assault. “MCPD must protect our essential workers,” he wrote.

This is beyond outrageous. @mcpnews should charge this customer with assault. A no-trespass order fails to protect workers in other stores/restaurants.

Retail workers have been punched, shot & killed elsewhere. MCPD must protect our essential workers.https://t.co/qoJ3lvBWIk

— Tom Hucker (he/him) (@tomhucker) August 2, 2020

Despite the altercation, he couldn’t have been arrested under Maryland law, says MCPD public information officer Rebecca Innocenti. She says officers can only arrest someone for second-degree assault if they actually witness the altercation.

Spitting is one way the coronavirus can spread since it lives in droplets from the nose and mouth.

Gov. Larry Hogan’s mask order requires face coverings to be worn in all businesses and restaurants, except when eating or drinking.

The mask-wearing requirement has turned into a culture war across the country that at times has become heated, violent, and even deadly.

Officials in Maryland and Virginia have reported dozens of confrontations over face-coverings in the past few months. 

But it’s the first altercation over mask enforcement in Montgomery County that Innocenti has heard of.

In the meantime, some business owners, like Brew Belly, are not allowing customers to dine inside altogether for fear that it puts their employees at a greater risk of exposure to the virus. 

Tamika Smith contributed to this report.