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Iowa Man Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison in Face Mask Dispute

An Iowa resident has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for assaulting a man who asked him to pull up his face mask.

The sentence, handed down Tuesday, comes one month after 42-year-old Shane Michael was convicted of assaulting a Des Moines resident at an eyeglass store, court records reveal. The victim, 60-year-old Mark Dinning, told police he asked Michael to pull up his mask when he noticed it was hanging below his mouth and nose. Michael became angry, followed Dinning out of the store, and attacked him, police say. Michael reportedly gouged Dinning’s eye and kneed him in the groin during the bloody assault.

Although Michael claimed he was only acting in self-defense after Dinning attacked him, witness accounts didn’t line up with his version of the story, court records reveal. Although Michael was offered a plea deal that would have resulted in a much lighter sentence, he turned it down in favor of taking his case before a jury, prosecutors say.

Why do people get so angry over masks?

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