A passenger who refused to wear a mask on a flight from Dublin to New York pulled down his pants and exposed his buttocks, threw a can at a passenger and put his cap on the captain’s head and told him, “Don’t touch me,” prosecutors said in a case unsealed on Friday.

After the Delta flight from Dublin to John F. Kennedy International Airport on January 7, the passenger, Shane McInerney, 29, of Galway, Ireland, was charged with intentionally assaulting and intimidating a crew member, prosecutors said. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison, prosecutors said.

McInerney has been released on bail on a $20,000 bond, prosecutors said.

In a statement filed in court, an FBI agent said McInerney had refused to wear a mask despite being asked to do so “dozens” of times during the eight-hour flight. He threw an empty beverage can, hitting another passenger in the head, and kicked the seat back in front of him, disturbing the passenger there, the statement said.

At one point, he walked from his seat in the economy section to the first-class section and complained to a flight attendant about the food. While being escorted back to his seat, McInerney “pulled down his pants and underwear and exposed his buttocks” to the flight attendant and passengers sitting nearby, the statement said.

About two hours into the flight, the captain, while on a break, spoke to McInerney, the statement said. During the conversation, McInerney twice took off his cap, put it on the captain’s head and then removed it again, the statement said.

He also put a fist close to the captain’s face and said, “Don’t touch me,” the statement said.

New York Times News Service