Four Palestinian-American passengers were detained at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport after stepping off a Delta Air Lines flight from Florida after their conduct onboard aroused the suspicion of an off-duty police officer. The two sides tell a very different story.
A Group Of Palestinian-American Young Men Detained After Arousing Suspicion Off-Duty Cop On Delta Flight
The incident occurred on a Delta flight from Tampa (TPA) to Minneapolis (MSP) on January 8, 2024.
An off-duty police officer from Minnesota, traveling with her mother, struck up a conversation with a group of four men in their 20s. According to the incident report:
“She said she watched them get up multiple times to go use the bathroom, and as each one came back they would whisper with their arms around each other. She said she found their behavior odd and decided to get up and get some water. While doing so, she approached them and asked if they were on a guys trip…The passengers said they were ‘CIA on a secret mission,’ and pointed to a black bag.”
The “CIA on a secret mission” quip sounds like something I would say if an annoying passenger had the temerity to question me. That’s the sort of “get lost” response that I find rather appropriate for the situation.
The young men, however, dispute that conversation even occurred. They stipulate that they were speaking in Arabic and English and wearing Palestine necklaces, but tell a different account of the conversation:
For Adley, the conversation was very different. He said that during the flight, he and one of his cousins were waiting for the bathroom near an empty row of seats when a woman walked up to them and made small talk. She asked what they were doing in Tampa, Florida, the city they departed from. Adley said he jokingly responded with, “We had a wedding mission to complete.”
When the plane landed in MSP, the Arabic-speaking men were approached and asked to step off the plane first. Law enforcement were waiting outside. Although the airport police have since stated that the men were not actually detained, it’s hard to say otherwise when you are approached by police officers and asked to step aside…
Indignant, the men asked to press “hate crime” charges against the off-duty police officer. According to the police report:
“I did state that I understand their perspective and why they are upset. But unfortunately, no report for a hate crime could be taken because we could not prove what was said by either party.”
The men eventually left after a conversation with police officers.
Delta says it is looking into the incident:
“Delta is reaching out to our customers to understand more about what occurred. We do not condone discriminatory conduct.”
Meanwhile, the boys’ cousin posted about the incident on X and doxxed the police officer. Among her comments:
“But this woman put my brother, our cousins and Arabic speaking passengers in danger. Anyone on the plane could’ve reacted to her allegation and became violent, even pulled out a gun on them or caused panick (sic).”
I would hope that no passenger could have pulled out a gun after going through TSA screening in Tampa…
I don’t know what actually occurred onboard. I do know that Palestinian-American have been unfairly profiled in the past. I do know that Arab and Sikh passengers have been accused of being “Muslim” who are not even Muslim.
If this off-duty police officer made up her story, I have real doubts about her ability to serve as a law enforcement officer. If her story was true (i.e. the men took turns going in and out of the lavatory, each time coming back and whispering to one another with their arms around each other, then joked about working for CIA), I get the suspicion. That still may not have justified detaining them, though, especially if we have any faith in the TSA to screen each passenger before boarding a commercial flight.
CONCLUSION
It should not be the case that speaking Arabic arouses suspicion in the USA. The idea of equating “Arabs” to “Muslims” to “terrorists” is so deeply problematic and should invite us all to question our fear-based prejudices. As for what occurred on the Delta flight, I do now know since the two sides tell such different stories. I would hope, however, as we reflect upon the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday today, that we can eventually reach a point in which Americans are not unfairly discriminated against on the basis of their skin color, language, or religion.
image: Delta
I keep saying, enter the plane mute and leave it mute. Jokes, small talks, etc… don’t do any good.
@Sabtastico … +1 .
There’s a reference to MLK holiday at the end.
That holiday is a testament to racism by African Americans against all other races and about Black privilege in America.
Holidays should not be for a secular person’s birthday. Already we see Columbus being de-emphasized. Washington is put aside in place of all Presidents for President’s Day.
MLK Day should be removed as a federal holiday and it should have been replaced by Juneteenth. Biden is senile and forgot to do this when he added Juneteenth buy forgot to delete MLK. Trump is so selfish about his affairs that he didn’t bring up the issue.
People like you are a testament to why that holiday is still needed.
And why is it needed?
MLK was not the only civil rights advocate. How about Malcolm X? W.E.B. Du Bois? Medgar Evers? Bayard Rustin? Ralph Abernathy?
The dact that you believe there is a black privilege for starters…
You mean like getting preferential treatment for things like college entrance and employment, getting in trouble or committing a crime and claiming it is nothing more than racism?
None of which is really true, but you keep doing you.
It’s unbelievable this law enforcement individual with such insightful analytical powers is wasted at a local level. She belongs on the FBI. It’s a reportable offense for men to go to the bathroom one after the other watching their turn.
@JoeMart … Safety first .
Just one comment Matt…being Muslim is not an “accusation”… people are “accused” of bad things
Fair enough. I guess my point was that some people (very sadly) associate Muslim with negative imagery.
Kind of like White’s being called racists all the time.
Thanks for acknowledging that Matt
Like it or not – and I don’t – there’s a ton of ignorant closed-minded people in the U.S. who feel that Muslim actually is a bad thing. Matthew is particularly agreeable with letting people espouse pretty much any whacked out viewpoint on his blog as long as you don’t actually threaten anyone. I disagree with the philosophy as I find hate speech simply breeds more hate speech but it’s not my blog and therefore not my place to say. If you want proof of what I say, simply look at the comments on any of Matthew’s contentious topics. You can even see hate in the comments above.
When the flight landed without incident should that not ended any doubts? Why the questioning then? I would hope the off duty officer apologized for her misunderstanding.
“The passengers said they were ‘CIA on a secret mission,’ and pointed to a black bag.” Does that end any potential threat? They never said their mission was being carried inside the plane. Again, make stupid jokes, get unpleasant reaction.
@ Santastico
But that’s what she said. They said they had a wedding mission. And she was the one initiating the conversation. It probably would have been more “suspicious” to say nothing.
Yeah I have a feeling her side of the story was a bit embellished.
Matthew, how were the men “detained”? They were pulled aside, interviewed / questioned, and permitted to go their way. That process could have been several minutes or an hour, but it does not appear to be longer. “Detained” makes this sound as if they were jailed, which did not happen. As for their behavior, who’s to say how you would have reacted if onboard the same flight? Of course, one of the men pulled the race card almost immediately, bc the other person was white, so why not? As for the cousin, her postings are ranting and very anti-Israel, which makes her a great spokesperson for Hamas propaganda but with questionable credibility.
I think detained is the right word here, whether it was literal detention or not. When cops approach you and ask to question you, it is very difficult to say no and the perception of detention becomes actual detention.
I don’t know whether the cousin is an anti-Semite bigot, though some of her posts are certainly concerning. Whether she is or not, however, does not impact my assessment of what happened to these guys on the Delta flight and in MSP.
“anti-Israel, which makes her a great spokesperson for Hamas propaganda”
An asinine correlation to make. You can be anti-Israel and pro-Palestinian without supporting Hamas. Which of her posts exactly were concerning?
How exactly are her posts concerning? As a Jewish person I find your statement “I don’t know whether the cousin is an anti-Semite bigot” to be disgusting and dangerous – the more we continue to label those who speak out for the Palestinian cause as anti-semitic, the more we turn away from actual anti-semitism that is happening on the ground. Then again, it’s easier for society and the U.S. government to just equate the two together to make it seem like work is being done to combat anti-semitism, rather than actually doing REAL work to fight it – because if you actually wanted to combat anti-semitism, you would also have to combat violence against other marginalized groups, which society has no interest in doing.
FWIW I went all the way back on her feed through the beginning of December and didn’t see anything “concerning.”
Who called the police to meet the aircraft? At no point does your article say this officer approached a flight attendant or involved a flight attendant so how did the police end up at the aircraft?
I’m wondering if this off duty police officer reached out to her department and had them have on-duty police meet the aircraft or meet these passengers as they exited the jetbridge.
Rumor on A.net has it Dave Edwards was open for business in the bathroom, thus their excitement and repeated trips in there.
Matthew, I applaud you for bringing attention to and standing against discrimination of any form.
Some people on here do condone racism, I get it… I don’t but I am curious for those criticizing the cop, at what point is it appropriate for a trained police officer to say “hey, it may be nothing but some of this behavior concerns me.”?
At a certain point, especially during a time of very heightened angst among Jews and Palestinians with MANY violent messages coming from a few (definitely not all) parts of the communities, it would be dumb for a cop to just put blinders on and accuse herself of racism if she sees concerning behavior. The guys weren’t arrested, merely questioned. Do we really want our cops not noticing suspicious behavior and reporting it?
If her account is correct, Multiple trips to the restroom while whispering to each other immediately after could be suspicious, per her training.
I personally don’t think we need to be overly Politically correct and put blinders on for a trained police officer. It’s not like it was some guy wearing a MAGA hat and yelling about Muslims that reported the behavior. I’d get the racist accusations then but a trained cop observing behavior she deemed suspicious? Let’s not be idiots and accept that sometimes suspicious behavior isn’t suspicious but that it can still be reported for questioning.
I believed we should question all Palestinians, I do not trust them. America please wake up and realize what and who really are dealing with!!!!!
What about “If you see something, say something “??
She saw behaviour that was concerning to her.
What if they had been nefarious and she decided to be quiet in order to be politically correct?
I dont have faith in TSA screening.
I dont trust LEO to be completely honest.
The increased tensions in the middle east (with our involvement) make terror acts an increased risk.
For several years, one sees billboards, signage and audio that promote, “If you see something, say something.” So what did the officer do? Apparently she saw something and said something. Ever since September 11th, people in the United States are “a bit skittish”…and rightly so. The media and the public would sing an entirely different tune if this “see something…” had a different outcome. Get over it wus!