*** WATCH *** FAKE FED VS. FAKE COP IN FREAK MASK: Two Charged...

HYANNIS, MASSACHUSETTS — A 26-year-old Hyannis man in a full-head “freak mask” and a local business owner are both headed to court after a tense Main Street confrontation in which each allegedly flashed a law enforcement badge at the other, Barnstable police said.

The bizarre showdown unfolded shortly after 10 p.m. Monday in the vicinity of 596 Main Street. A senior man checking on his business told officers he was assaulted by a masked individual who was hanging out at the property with several others. The alleged attacker’s mask was mostly black, covering the entire head, with a bone-white, deformed human-skull design covering most of the face, excluding only the man’s eye sockets.

Officers quickly located and handcuffed the masked man just a block away. While interviewing both parties, officers learned the situation had escalated into dueling cop badges — and that neither man was actual law enforcement.

The business owner admitted he pulled out a realistic-looking U.S. Department of Homeland Security badge marked “Special Agent” and told the masked man he was “an officer…” and not to come any closer. He acknowledged he is not a federal agent. The badge, he said, had been left behind at his business last summer; he kept it “for protection.”

In response, the man in the skull mask allegedly flashed his own silver badge reading “Special Police.” Investigators later learned that he, too, was not a bona fide member of law enforcement.

Police arrested the 26-year-old in the full “freak mask” on charges of Assault and Battery on a Person Age 60 or Older and Impersonating a Police Officer. The business owner is being issued a criminal summons for Impersonating a Police Officer.

Officers described the DHS Special Agent badge as appearing highly authentic. Hyannis News photographed the DHS badge and it can be seen in the following HN Video. The “Special Police” badge allegedly flashed by the man in the “freak mask” was not captured on camera.

The case highlights an unusual twist in which two civilians, each pretending to carry official authority, squared off — one in a horror-movie mask, the other armed only with a found federal badge. Both now face criminal charges.

HN NOTE: While filming the man in the “freak mask,” a witness suddenly jumped in front of the camera, flexed his arm into the classic “Cape Cod” pose that mimics our beloved peninsula’s shape, and exclaimed “Cape Cod!”

He appeared to be making an overarching generalization about last night’s bizarre scene — one some viewers may find spot-on, while others might call it a bit far-fetched.

[HN VIDEO – PRESS PLAY]