2 shoppers were barred from Walmart after wearing swastika face masks in a Minnesota store

• Two shoppers were barred from Walmart for a year after wearing face coverings with the swastika symbol at a store in Marshall, Minnesota.
• Video footage shows the shoppers being confronted by other customers, including one who says: "You can't be American and wear that mask. You cannot. We literally had a war about this."
• The woman responded by framing her actions as a protest against mandatory masks: "If you vote for Biden, you're going to be in Nazi Germany. That's what it's going to be like."
• Walmart called the incident "unacceptable" and said it made face coverings mandatory for customers "for their safety and the safety of others."

Two shoppers who prompted confrontations with others for wearing swastika masks in a Minnesota store over the weekend have been barred from Walmarts nationwide.

The two were filmed Saturday in a store in Marshall, Minnesota, wearing loose face coverings featuring a black swastika in a white circle on a red background — the flag of the German Nazi Party.

When confronted, one woman said "I'm not a Nazi" and argued that their masks were a protest at the prospect of a Joe Biden presidency.

The Minneapolis Star Tribune reported that police officers gave trespass notices to the 59-year-old man and 64-year-old woman, who have not been named.

The notice said they would face arrest if they returned to the store. The police did not pursue any charges against them.

A Walmart representative told the local NBC station KARE 11 that the two customers had been barred for one year.

The shoppers appeared to be acting in protest against being made to wear a mask, which is both a Walmart policy and a Minnesota mandate. The state requires people to wear masks at indoor businesses.

BuzzFeed News reported that the video was filmed by Benjamin Ruesch, 29. It was then posted to Facebook by Raphaela Mueller, 24, the vicar of a parish in southwest Minnesota.

The video shows Ruesch saying to the two customers as they purchase their groceries: "You're sick. You have an illness. You can't be American and wear that mask. You cannot. We literally had a war about this."

The woman responds: "I'm not a Nazi. I'm trying to show you what's going to happen in America. If you vote for Biden, you're going to be in Nazi Germany. That's what it's going to be like."

The man then says: "We're living under a socialist state."

Biden has backed the wearing of masks as a measure to control the spread of the coronavirus. President Donald Trump has been more ambivalent about masks but has at times has supported them and worn one himself.

You can watch the video here:

Mueller, the vicar who posted the video, wrote on Facebook: " I was born and raised in Germany, and I grew up hearing about my great-grandmother who fought in the underground against the first wave of Nazis in the 1930s and 40s."

"Let me make this abundantly clear once and for all - THE SWASTIKA IS A HATE SYMBOL AND YOU DO NOT FLY THE FLAG, YOU DO NOT WEAR THE SYMBOL ANYWHERE ON YOUR BODY, YOU DO NOT USE OR DEFEND THIS SYMBOL, EVER. END OF STORY."

BuzzFeed News reported that the two customers were offered other disposable face masks but refused them and that the police were called after they became belligerent when asked to leave by Walmart staff.

Retail employees across the US have described abuse from customers who don't want to wear masks, including being yelled at and assaulted.

Walmart has required customers to wear face coverings in its stores since July 20.

But the company is still instructing workers to allow people without face coverings to enter its stores. It says they should continue serving customers who are not wearing masks to try to avoid a "physical confrontation."

In its statement to KARE 11 on Saturday, Walmart called the incident in Minnesota "unacceptable."

"We strive to provide a safe and comfortable shopping environment for all our customers and will not tolerate any form of discrimination or harassment in any aspect of our business," it said.

"We are asking everyone to wear face coverings when they enter our stores for their safety and the safety of others and it's unfortunate that some individuals have taken this pandemic as an opportunity to create a distressing situation for customers and associates in our store."