A 51-year-old Palm Beach, Fla., man was charged with a felony after he was accused of spitting at a Disney World security guard who asked him to put on his mask, according to an Orange County Sheriff’s arrest report released Monday.
Kelly McKin was charged with a battery on a security officer, court records show.
McKin adamantly denied spitting on the guard last month at Disney’s Contemporary Resort, the arrest report said. He did immediately not return a message for comment Monday.
However, the security guard said she recognized McKin from his long grey beard and mustache. On Feb. 5, the guard said she had confronted him about not wearing a mask on Disney property as he was walking into the Contemporary’s convention center.
The guard described what happened next in the arrest report.
She asked if he needed directions. “I’m a guest,” he told her.
The convention center was closed, she said.
She asked him to put on his mask. He promised he would do so once he went inside the building.
The security guard reminded him masks were required at all times on Disney property.
“The male told her to leave him alone, and took a step towards her and spit on her,” the arrest report said. “The spit did not make direct contact but some saliva did hit her on her left forehead.”
The guard, who did not have a radio on her, went to get backup while the man disappeared inside the hotel and got on the elevators.
“That was the last he was seen,” the arrest report said.
The security contact notified Disney she had been at risk of COVID-19 exposure. She also told authorities she was willing to press charges against the man.
The next day, Feb. 6, Orange County Sheriff’s Office responded to a call from Disney requesting a trespass warning after the man had been identified and seen on surveillance footage.
McKin was later arrested and trespassed from Disney property.
The Sentinel first reported the spitting incident in an earlier story this month that looked at the harassment some employees faced enforcing the safety rules on Disney property. The Sentinel had requested additional reports Feb. 23 to see if the man accused of spitting on the security guard had been identified and arrested. The sheriff’s office released the arrest report three weeks later on Monday.
Even though most people wear their masks without issues at the theme parks, a handful of visitors had been arrested in recent weeks for their outbursts when they refused to wear masks or go through temperature checks, the Sentinel found. One Disney Springs employee said she faced regular verbal abuse from visitors as she enforced the rules.
“Millions of guests visit our theme parks each year, and in rare instances when things of this nature occur, we hold them accountable,” Disney spokeswoman Andrea Finger said in a statement earlier this month.
