Man arrested after refusing to wear mask at Whitefish gym

A Kalispell man was arrested and charged with misdemeanor trespassing last week after refusing to wear a face covering at a gym in Whitefish.

Whitefish police were called to The Wave Aquatic and Fitness Center on Wednesday after a manager asked Bryan P. Miller to put on a mask or a face shield and he refused, according to a police report. He had been warned to wear a mask at the facility during a previous encounter.

After his arrest, Miller, 32, was booked into a cell at the Whitefish police station and posted a $300 bond about an hour later. He is now banned from The Wave.

The city of Whitefish enacted a local mask ordinance in February when Gov. Greg Gianforte rescinded a statewide mask mandate. But in an email Monday, City Prosecutor Mary Barry said no one has been ticketed or charged under the provisions of that ordinance.

"I want to be clear this was a trespass complaint, not an arrest for a failure to comply with a mask mandate," Barry said of Miller's arrest.

Whitefish police Chief Bill Dial reiterated that in a statement Monday evening.

"Private businesses have the right to refuse service to anyone they feel are a detriment to their business or other patrons," Dial said.

The city of Whitefish owns the gym facilities but is locked into a 70-year lease agreement with The Wave, which operates them as a private nonprofit.

ACCORDING TO the police report, when officers arrived at The Wave shortly before 4 p.m. Wednesday, the manager and the gym's facility director escorted them to the pool area, where Miller and his wife were watching their three young sons take swimming lessons. The facility director again told Miller to put on a mask or leave, and he replied, "I have a problem breathing. I can't wear a mask."

An officer then told Miller to leave several times, and asked Miller's wife to help persuade him. According to the report, she "pleaded with Miller to leave; however, he still refused."

Before leaving the pool area to speak with the officer privately, Miller knelt and told his children he was "going to jail," the report states.

The officer and Miller's wife continued "pleading" for him to exit the gym until he was finally handcuffed and placed in the back of a patrol car, the report states. A police sergeant arrived and offered to release Miller, but he "insisted he go to jail," the report states.

"Miller stated he would rather be arrested and indicated that if he was cited and released, he may enter The Wave again," said Dial, the police chief.

On Monday, the gym manager who first confronted Miller referred questions to the facility director, who could not immediately be reached for comment. According to the police report, gym staff "have had similar issues with Miller in the past."

Dial said gym staff had offered to provide Miller a face shield.

"Approximately two weeks prior, Miller had been asked to leave by Wave staff and police for the same rule violation," Dial said. "At that time, he complied and was informed he could return if he complied with The Wave's policies."

ON SOCIAL media, Miller has shared debunked conspiracy theories about COVID-19, including ones involving Bill Gates and a recent post claiming the virus was "made up" in order to push vaccines.

Miller spoke publicly about his arrest Monday morning, testifying remotely before the Montana Senate Judiciary Committee in support of a bill that would invalidate local mask requirements across the state.

"I had stated a medical exemption, which I had been granted a month prior," he told the committee. "I am for law enforcement, and saw that the position they were in, they didn't want to be in. And I just peacefully stated that I was here to watch my boys swim, and, you know, I was unable to wear a mask. So they arrested me and took me to jail, where later my wife had to walk up with my children after swim lessons and bail me out."

In an interview with the Daily Inter Lake, Miller said he suffers from asthma but also opposes mask requirements because he does not believe masks help prevent coronavirus transmission.

The overwhelming majority of peer-reviewed research on the topic concludes masks do help when worn properly and consistently.

Miller is scheduled to appear in Whitefish Municipal Court on March 31.

Reporter Chad Sokol can be reached at 758-4434 or csokol@dailyinterlake.com