Covert said his client had a gaiter-type face cover that day but, on occasion, walked into the bar while it was around his neck and not pulled up over his mouth and nose. He pulled it up to his face whenever asked by an employee or Sapienza, who swore when he prodded Lewinski over the mask, Covert said.

At one point that afternoon, Covert said, “Mr. Sapienza stated out loud that he would kill my client if he didn’t put his mask on.”

And at about 4:45 p.m., the attorney said, Sapienza approached Lewinski before a waitress managed to separate them.

Then, three hours later, Lewinski went into the bar for a final time to pay his bill. The owner, according to Covert, asked Lewinski to pull up his mask, complimented the band’s performance and thanked him for coming.

As they were talking, Sapienza got up from where he was sitting at the bar and walked up behind Lewinski, Covert said.

Sapienza wagged his finger at Lewinski and yelled at him again, the lawyer said.

“The owner says Don, my client, was ignoring him, was not responding,” Covert said.

Lewinski finally turned around to face Sapienza and found himself with the bar at his back, a table on either side – part of public-health measures the Red Zone set up to separate parties at the bar – and Sapienza blocking his only way out, Covert said.