Republican senator shown without mask on Delta Airlines flight

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A passenger on a Delta Airlines flight posted a photo to Twitter of U.S. Senator Roger Wicker (R-Mississippi) with his mask tucked under his chin.

Wicker, an ally of President Donald Trump, was criticized on the social media platform after putting fellow passengers at risk.

An advertising and media specialist for Democrat Mike Espy’s campaign, Matt Harringer, spotted the senator on the flight from Washington, D.C. to Jackson, Mississippi, Sun Herald reported.

Read More: Missouri governor, opponent of mandatory masks, has COVID-19

He decided to post the unmasked politician on Twitter.

I’ve seen enough Republican senators test positive to tweet this photo. @SenatorWicker — because you refused to wear a mask on our @Delta flight last night, please let your fellow passengers know your status once you’ve been tested. pic.twitter.com/j2TW6g1gwO

— Matt Harringer (@MattHarringer) October 3, 2020

“Senator Wicker lowered his face mask to eat a snack and forgot to put it back up. When he was reminded by a flight attendant, he put the mask back up,” said Rick Vanmeter, Sen. Wicker’s communications director.

“He did not attend any recent events at the White House and has not been in contact with any of the individuals who have tested positive for COVID-19 in recent days,” he said.

However, Harringer told the Sun Herald that Wicker had his mask down on his chin for 90% of the entire flight, and he time stamped the images of his unmasked face.

Wicker’s mask was under his chin at 8:37 p.m., 9:27 p.m. and 9:46 p.m. on Thursday, which, according to Harringer, were times before takeoff, during the flight, and just before landing, the Sun Herald reported.

Read More: Rite Aid manager fired after defending herself against violent customer over mask

“I think the people on the plane, the woman in front of him, me, who was sitting 5 feet away from him, deserve to know his status,” Harringer said.

“It’s incredibly upsetting to see people like the senator act like this is no big deal,” Harringer said. “I don’t know if he’s lost anybody he loved, but when you lose somebody you love, you get upset about people not wearing masks.”

Hello Matt. Nothing is more important than the health and safety of our people and our customers. We take our mask policy seriously and are investigating this incident. Kylie

— Delta (@Delta) October 3, 2020

In response to his tweet, Delta Airlines stated that the company is launching an investigation.

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