Authorities in California are investigating several incidents in which a middle-aged man has harassed children for wearing masks.

A video from one of the confrontations shows the man, who was wearing a t-shirt that said: "Your mask makes you look stupid," approaching a group of middle school students as they walked home from school.

"Stay scared. Keep your masks on that don't even work," he screamed at the kids.

One of the kids yelled back, "We're 13!"

The man, whose identity has not been released, then went on an expletive-filled rant. When an adult tried to intervene, the man yelled at him as well.

"Look at this grown man with a mask on. What a fricken coward. What a total p—y… Where'd you buy your mask? The stupid store?"

The man then called the kids a "bunch of idiots" before leaving the area.

“He was getting three to five inches away and coughing in their faces,” a parent only identified as Ned told KCAL.

When deputies arrived at the scene, they were unable to determine if a crime was committed.

"He decided to lecture the kids about freedom of speech instead of taking their names and writing an incident report," parent Emily Lanigan told KCAL.

Los Angeles Sheriff's Department Lt. Robert Hahnlein said that investigators have identified the man in the video and are working with police in Glendale to investigate claims that he has been harassing students for the past month.

Bob Delmont

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