A Muslim woman arrested on an American Airlines flight Saturday before leaving New Jersey said she was wrongly left alone following an argument with a white man traveling in first class.
Amani al-Khatahbeh, an activist and blogger, described the controversy in a Twitter thread about an hour before his apparent arrest, saying it began at the Transportation Security Administration checkpoint at Newark Liberty International Airport.
“I was taken to TSA this morning. Got no craziest experience. The rightful white man behind me insisted on cutting me in line because I was ‘still taking off my shoes’, “said al-Khatab Tweeted 9:18 a.m., before her closed flight from Charlotte, North Carolina. “When I said he could wait like everyone else, he started talking about how ‘pre-check’ and ‘first class’ are.”
At 10:07, she Tweeted: “Guys he complained about me and MericAmericanAir Trying to get me off the flight. He then posted a 15-minute video on Facebook from the plane in which a police officer eventually said he was under arrest.
He said in the video, “Literally they called cops on me.” “This first class guy complained about me because he cut me in line at TSA and now they literally come to me to escort this flight right now, for some reason, literally on me this guy Don’t talk. “
“He made me feel uncomfortable, this class sat in first class. I am a veiled Muslim woman on this flight and they are taking her word for it. “
He claimed she was removed when he was not a man.
Officials confirmed that an incident had occurred.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said: “This morning, the Port Authority Authority requested the airline’s request that the passenger refuse to be evacuated, that the flight be delayed, and that the person be deported. Replied. Police custody.
It is not clear if he was charged in the incident.
American Airlines said: “We are aware of an incident that occurred during the boarding of Flight 2029 at Newark Liberty International Airport. We are concerned about these allegations and our team is working to understand what happened. “
The airline said the flight was delayed by about an hour. The airline said it was not on the flight. It is not clear whether the man was taken off the plane.
The TSA said the incident was “not a TSA matter.”
“No complaints were made at the checkpoint by any of the passengers. If boarding a plane was a matter of customer service, it is an airline matter. In such situations, TSA has no involvement after passengers clear the checkpoint and board the flight, ”the agency said.
“This person is a T.S.A. Was drawn towards Prechek Lane. The woman was given a TSA. The direction was directed in the alley except the pre-check, so they went in different directions for screening. “
“An official asked both passengers to reduce the amount of conversation,” the TSA also said.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations issued a statement to CAIR’s national executive director, Nihad Awad, regarding the incident: The words of a man who allegedly tortured him. “
New Jersey Executive Director Seladin Maksut said in a statement that law enforcement should release Amni from immediate custody and conduct a full and transparent investigation into what happened. “Any investigation must pay attention to the behavior of the stranger who alleged this awkward incident.”
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