Photo: AviationCV.com
A man was arrested at the end of a recent flight from Houston, Texas, to Albuquerque, New Mexico, after claims that he groped a woman sitting in front of him at least 3 times without her consent.
According to an affidavit by the FBI agent investigating the case, this happened on board a Southwest Airlines plane on October 21. Flight attendants on duty told the investigators they didn’t notice any inappropriate touching, but they did respond to a woman’s request to be reseated after what seemed like an altercation with the man in the row behind her.
The man, identified as Bruce Michael Alexander, was arrested upon arrival in New Mexico. He asked the cops to tell him what the punishment was for what he’d done (though he denied he had groped the woman in front of him), and told them that “the president of the United States says it’s OK to grab women by their private parts.”
That’s a reference to a controversial comment made by Donald Trump in 2005, when he bragged to Access Hollywood’s Billy Bush about being able to “grab women by the p***y” and not getting into trouble for it.
According to the woman’s statement to the FBI, Alexander started groping her when she fell asleep. She felt his hand ride up on her side, towards her breast, and linger there long enough for her to wake up and notice that it had “thick fingers, were hairy and dirty fingernails.” He did it again 2 more times before she eventually got up and confronted him, asking him why he thought it was ok for him to touch her without her consent.
She then got up and asked a flight attendant that she be reseated. Her request was granted immediately, but she also filed a complaint against Alexander, who was arrested when the plane landed.
The Huffington Post notes that he faces up to 2 years in jail and a $250,000 fine if he’s found guilty of abusive sexual contact. At the same time, the flight operator says that, in light of what happened, they’re “continuously reviewing and updating” the training of staff “as necessary.”
The man, identified as Bruce Michael Alexander, was arrested upon arrival in New Mexico. He asked the cops to tell him what the punishment was for what he’d done (though he denied he had groped the woman in front of him), and told them that “the president of the United States says it’s OK to grab women by their private parts.”
That’s a reference to a controversial comment made by Donald Trump in 2005, when he bragged to Access Hollywood’s Billy Bush about being able to “grab women by the p***y” and not getting into trouble for it.
According to the woman’s statement to the FBI, Alexander started groping her when she fell asleep. She felt his hand ride up on her side, towards her breast, and linger there long enough for her to wake up and notice that it had “thick fingers, were hairy and dirty fingernails.” He did it again 2 more times before she eventually got up and confronted him, asking him why he thought it was ok for him to touch her without her consent.
She then got up and asked a flight attendant that she be reseated. Her request was granted immediately, but she also filed a complaint against Alexander, who was arrested when the plane landed.
The Huffington Post notes that he faces up to 2 years in jail and a $250,000 fine if he’s found guilty of abusive sexual contact. At the same time, the flight operator says that, in light of what happened, they’re “continuously reviewing and updating” the training of staff “as necessary.”
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