A man is accused of repeatedly coughing while not wearing a protective mask in a courtroom at the Butler County Government Center.

County sheriff's deputies arrested Aarron S. Wiemelt, 31, of Butler, stemming from the incident last week in Common Pleas Judge Thomas Doerr's courtroom.

Wiemelt is facing a preliminary hearing Oct. 26 on misdemeanor charges of defiant trespass and disorderly conduct. He is free on his own recognizance.

The defendant about 10:40 a.m. Sept. 2 entered courtroom 5 where Doerr was presiding over summary appeal hearings, authorities said. He was “forcefully” coughing without a facial mask, according to Chief Deputy Sheriff Mark Peffer, the arresting officer.

The coughing continued, Peffer said in charging documents, with Wiemelt turning his head in several directions. Peffer subsequently advised the defendant that unless he had a medical reason not to, he would have to don a facial mask.

He “loudly and defiantly refused,” documents said.

Peffer again referred Wiemelt to the state's mask-wearing mandate due to the coronavirus pandemic and noted the signs posted outside the courtrooms that remind the public of that policy.

But the Wiemelt allegedly remained defiant.

“Other occupants in the room indicated alarm and annoyance to the defendant's actions,” documents said, “and he continued to forcefully cough during the interaction.”

Peffer eventually detained Wiemelt and removed him from the courtroom.

Online court records indicated that Wiemelt is being represented by the county's public defender's office. A defense attorney could not be reached for comment Thursday.