A violent midair attack on an American Airlines flight attendant ended with a federal sentence that will leave many flyers and crew members wondering what it takes to actually go to jail…
Kansas Man Who Assaulted Flight Attendant Avoids Jail After Midair Attack
A Kansas resident who assaulted a flight attendant aboard an American Airlines regional flight has been sentenced in federal court, and the punishment is strikingly light given what prosecutors described as a frightening onboard assault.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Connecticut, Julius Jordan Priester, 25, of Wichita, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Stefan R. Underhill to one year of probation and a $500 fine after pleading guilty to interfering with flight crew members and attendants. The sentence did not include any jail time.
What Happened On The Flight
The incident occurred on May 27, 2025, on American Airlines flight AA3359 from Hartford (BDL) to Chicago O’Hare (ORD), operated by Envoy Air. About 30 minutes after takeoff, Priester reportedly jumped up, removed his shirt, screamed “Help me,” and then grabbed a flight attendant by the collar and forced him to the floor. Passengers intervened, the pilots declared an emergency, and the aircraft returned to Bradley International Airport where law enforcement met the flight. I wrote about it here.
> Read More: American Airlines Passenger Grabs Flight Attendant, Drags Her Down Aisle In Midair Meltdown
Prosecutors also noted Priester’s personal history, including “significant trauma” and substance abuse issues, which appears to have been a major factor in how this case ultimately resolved.
Does This Sentence Sends The Wrong Message?
I am all for rehabilitation when it makes sense. I am also willing to accept that life is complicated and that courts see details the public does not. But we have a basic problem in commercial aviation right now: a non-trivial subset of passengers have decided that the airplane cabin is a lawless space, and the people tasked with keeping order at 35,000 feet are fair game.
Flight attendants are not bouncers and in an enclosed tube, they cannot simply walk away from a threatening passenger. They are trapped with hundreds of people, responsible for safety, emergency response, and security coordination with the flight deck. When you put your hands on a crewmember in flight, you are not just “acting out.” You are creating a safety risk for everyone onboard.
That is why a probationary sentence here feels so unsatisfying. Not because every case demands a maximal penalty, but because deterrence matters. A sentence does not just punish one individual, it signals to the next would-be tough guy, drunk, or unhinged passenger that there are real consequences for turning a flight into chaos.
And when the consequence for a collar-grab and takedown at cruising altitude is probation and a $500 fine, the signal is not great…that’s my two cents.
CONCLUSION
This was a serious in-flight assault on a working crewmember, and it deserved to be treated as such. Instead, the outcome will be read by many as yet another example of the gap between what happens onboard and what happens in court afterward. If airlines want safer cabins, and if we want crews to be able to do their jobs without fear of physical attack, accountability has to be more than a press release and a wrist slap.
image: Julius Priester / Facebook
Just another activist judge that doesn’t want to “put a black man in chains”. It’s not about justice or what’s truly right or wrong anymore and it hasn’t been for a while.
I would be careful saying it is directly race-related, but whatever the case, it seems absurd to me.
Yeah, maybe the judge liked his tie.
Could be the inverse/complementary and equally perverse counterpart to ” white privilege “… The guy needs some serious help, considering his traumatic upbringing and continual violent outbreaks/episodes. Hopefully his next victims will be guaranteed the occasion to address this judge …And if that pic is indeed the suspect, it certainly looks like he can pack a punch or two …
Wahh wahhh wahhh. Cry more, bigot
His comment wasn’t bigoted, it was a statement that’s objectively true. Too many offenders are given a slap on the wrist because of their substance abuse, or their abusive childhood, or the color of their skin because of frankly ridiculous claims of “intergenerational trauma”. None of those things excuses violent, antisocial behaviour. People need to stop whining about how hard life is, and take some personal reaponsibility. The vast majority of people who have traumatic experiences don’t take them out on everyone else. This man is a low-life thug.
Why don’t you put up some stats to back that up. I bet you black people are oversentenced way more often than white people
Statistically that’s because they commit a disproportionately large number of the crimes. I’m sure that fact will throw you into a hysterical hissy-fit, but it’s true. The saddest thing is that the majority of that crime is committed against other black people.
No hissy-fit, you are making a lazy argument, probably not the only thing you do lazily. Black males receive 13% longer prison sentences than white males, and are 23% less likely to receive probationary sentences. That has nothing to do with which race is responsible for more crimes.
Because statistically speaking the crimes they commit are more severe or are repeat offenders and therefore receive longer sentences
It looks like the prosecutor didn’t charge assault as part of the plea deal. You should blame the prosecutor who was eager to get an easy win.
Awww bob, boys will be violent boys eh
Dude might have been on something.
By the way, this is the real Billy Bob, the one with manners.
@Matthew +1
LOL…how is that harsh when you compare it to the hundreds of Jan 6 violent criminals who desecrated, defecated, and violently attacked police officers yet were pardoned by Trump? I would argue this was an extremely harsh sentence considering the criminals who repeatedly violate our laws and are continually pardoned by the current administration.
And we all know he would be running the FAA if he were white, uneducated, and disliked by all his peers.
One act of injustice does not excuse another act of injustice.
I’ve long said here that the 1/6/21 thugs should have been charged for treason and enslaved in work camps, tasked with improving U.S. infrastructure for the rest of their lives…but that doesn’t mean this loser should have been given a slap on the wrist.
Fair enough!
Lol still bitter that your narrative was destroyed. Jan 6 was peaceful protest even by lefty standards. None of them should have ever even been charged.
And unlike that violet AWFL goode, Ashley baby it was unarmed and murdered.
Jan 6th was the American Bastille day.
Don’t believe your lying eyes.
At least sentence him to 13 months and suspend it. I believe that would disqualify him from visiting many places outside the US.