Amani Al-Khatahtbeh, Muslim media figure, says she was singled out after arrest at Newark Airport
Amani Al-Khatahtbeh, a media figure and founder of Muslim Girl who ran for New Jersey’s 6th congressional district was arrested Saturday and taken off a flight at Newark Airport after she said she was wrongly singled out during an incident with a white male passenger, according to an airline spokesperson.
Al-Khatahtbeh, 28, was escorted off American Airlines flight 2029 at about 9:55 a.m., just as the Charlotte, North Carolina-bound flight was slated to depart. Passengers were temporarily deboarded, according to Andrew Trull, an American Airlines spokesperson.
Trull said she was charged, but directed additional questions to the Port Authority police, who responded to the incident and removed Al-Khatahtbeh from the aircraft. Lindsay Kryzak, a Port Authority spokeswoman said Al-Khatahtbeh was briefly taken into custody and released, but declined to say if and what Al-Khatahtbeh was charged with. The Port Authority’s independent inspector general has started an investigation, Kryzak said.
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In a statement, CAIR and CAIR-New Jersey called on American Airlines to explain why it ordered Al-Khatahtbeh, and not the man, to exit the aircraft.
“Although we do not yet know all of the facts about this incident, we do know that American Airlines has a history of mistreating Muslim travelers,” said CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad. “The airline must immediately explain why it singled out Amani by contacting the police and ejecting her from a flight based on the word of a man who had allegedly harassed her.”
“Law enforcement must immediately release Amani from custody and conduct a full and transparent investigation into what happened,” said CAIR-New Jersey Executive Director Selaedin Maksut. “Any investigation must look into the conduct of the unidentified man who allegedly sparked this disturbing incident.”
Al-Khatahtbeh was the subject of a violent, obscenity-laced phone call where the unknown man attacked her with racial slurs and threatened to torture and kill her family. She said on Twitter she posted the nearly two-minute exchange so people can get a sense of the hate that Muslims and minorities face.
Lori Comstock can also be reached on Twitter: @LoriComstockNJH, on Facebook: www.Facebook.com/LoriComstockNJH or by phone: 973-383-1194.
