STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A viral video showing an angry mob forcing a mask-less grocery store customer out of a ShopRite on the South Shore has drawn the ire of the anti-mask movement, while participants on both sides of the melee have since provided their own account of what happened.

The heated confrontation occurred nearly three weeks ago inside the Charleston location.

An Instagram user who identified herself as the woman without a mask in the video said she would have fought off the crowd, but [its] very different when youre a young woman alone, being attacked by all these grown a-- men, and mind you I had my 1-year-old daughter with me... its scary.

As employees and shoppers berate the woman for not wearing a mask, one man calls her a dirty a-- pig, while another man off-camera is heard shouting, get the f--- out of here!

One of the shoppers in the video who was wearing a mask claimed the woman was the aggressor.

William Pellegrino, of New Jersey, who identified himself as the man in the camouflage mask, told the Advance/SILive.com the video footage was preceded by a confrontation that was not filmed.

He heard yelling and walked toward the ruckus. The video begins some time after the fight started.

Pellegrino said he wasnt certain of her motive for not wearing a mask, but that she was arguing with the crowd, saying, 'Why does it matter to any of you?'

A spokesman for ShopRite said the store contacted authorities following the incident, though it didnt appear Thursday that police had taken any action in the matter.

The spokesman said earlier this week the only exception for not wearing a mask would be a medical condition, and if customers see someone in the store without one they should contact management rather than addressing the issue themselves.

The woman did not mention in her comments if she had a medical condition, and did not respond to requests for comment.

Deputies from the New York City Office of the Sheriff distributed 3,000 masks at the FDR Boardwalk Sunday in South Beach. May 3, 2020. (Staten Island Advance/Jason Paderon) Jason Paderon

ANTI-MASKERS ERUPT

On Instagram, dozens commended the mask-less woman for standing her ground.

Responding to the support and defending her decision to ultimately leave the store, the woman in the Instagram account said she "unfortunately was the only one speaking up...its really a joke at this point.

One version of the video posted by IG account @we_are_the_revoluti0n garnered nearly 20,000 views and hundreds of comments.

The post was captioned: When the sheep gather up and enforce mask laws.

The accounts home page shows a link to a documentary that discredits world history as its currently taught, including claims 6 million Jews did not die during the Holocaust, and Truths including The destruction of Europe and Western Civilization," and The New World Order and the Satanic Endgoal.

Many conspiracy theorists -- some who identify as truthers -- believe that information funneled from scientists and government leaders to the mainstream media, including the importance of masks, is either fake news or over exaggerated in an attempt to fool the American public for the financial and personal gain of liberal politicians and other elite members of society.

The recommendation to wear a mask comes from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the nations director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and several other top health officials across the globe as an effective way to prevent droplets from spreading to others and therefore slowing the spread.

Some truthers and President Trump supporters cite reports that one type of N95 mask, or wearing the mask incorrectly, could harm others.

An executive order issued this week allowing businesses to refuse service to anyone without a mask came days after Gov. Andrew Cuomo addressed the issue at a press conference Monday.

FILE - In this May 21, 2020 file photo, President Donald Trump holds a face mask in his left hand as he speaks during a tour of Ford's Rawsonville Components Plant that has been converted to making personal protection and medical equipment, in Ypsilanti, Mich. From the U.S. president to the British prime minister's top aide and far beyond, leading officials around the world are refusing to wear masks or breaking confinement rules meant to protect their populations from the coronavirus and slow the pandemic. While some are punished when they're caught, or publicly repent, others shrug off the violations as if the rules don't apply to them. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)AP

TRUMP GOES MASK-LESS

As hundreds protested earlier this month for the early reopening of businesses on Staten Island, some were mask-less and congregating within inches of each other. One sign read, Masks dont work, people should.

Several protestors showed support for Trump, who continuously has appeared on television in public places within close proximity to others not wearing a mask.

Not all anti-maskers are conspiracy theorists, but many believe the governments support of the mask and inclusion of suspected COVID-19 cases in the data reported publicly is a political ploy by Democrats to make the federal government look worse in its handling of the crisis, while accusing hospitals across the U.S. of inflating numbers for additional federal funding.

Politically, they often self-identify as anti-liberal, anti-media, anti-elite and question the opinions of doctors in both science and medicine commissioned to council government leaders around the globe.

Government leaders in New York credit the masks and the shutdown with flattening the curve," as was the formula in several other nations. Officials have said the suspected COVID-19 cases based on a patients symptoms is necessary in obtaining a true picture of the impact, due to a lack of testing thats made it impossible to test anyone exhibiting symptoms.

At a press conference last month, Trump suggested New York City was padding the number of total deaths with suspected COVID-19 deaths, in an effort to obtain more federal funding than needed.

More than 100,000 people across the U.S. reportedly have died from coronavirus (COVID-19), as the World Health Organization has deemed the Americas the current epicenter of the pandemic. Most who have died were seniors, or had pre-existing conditions. Though some were not, and reports of a new illness in children which the CDC has linked to COVID-19 has raised new concerns among experts and the general public.

Hundreds gather at the old DMV parking lot in Travis for a rally to reopen New York City for business. May 16, 2020. (Staten Island Advance/Jason Paderon)

SHADES OF THE SPANISH FLU

During the Spanish Flu of 1918 and 1919 that killed 675,000 people in the U.S., local governments instructed residents to wear a mask in order to help prevent the virus spread.

While compliance was high, some complained the masks were uncomfortable, ineffective or bad for business, while public officials were seen publicly without one, according to History.com.

Mask slackers were arrested and taken to court by the hundreds; a health official shot an unmasked protester, and thousands attended meetings held by the Anti-Mask League in San Francisco, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

Some public officials were among those seen publicly not wearing a mask.

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Staten Island ShopRite melee ignites feuding factions on masks in pandemic - silive.com