LAYNE LUNDEEN BREAKS SILENCE AFTER FLIGHT DUCT-TAPE ARREST

Layne Lundeen was duct-taped to his seat by flight attendants and fellow passengers on an American Airlines flight from Dallas to Newark on 3 September, after he allegedly shouted racial slurs at the crew and choked the passenger next to him. The flight was diverted to Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, where police arrested him after he allegedly struck an officer in the chest. The next day he appeared before a court in Annapolis charged with second-degree assault and disorderly conduct. He has now spoken publicly for the first time, telling the court he could not remember what happened.

District Court Commissioner George Haag read Lundeen his charges at the hearing, including an allegation that he had assaulted a police officer, according to a transcript. Lundeen, who said he lacked his glasses and could not read the document, asked Haag to confirm the allegation before responding, "Oh my God, what a mess." Jonathan Cahn, the passenger seated next to him and a Messianic rabbi and author, said the pair spoke for about two hours before their conversation turned to religion. Cahn said Lundeen then began shouting profanities and blasphemy, some of it anti-semitic, and was "slurring everything and everybody."

Long Realty, which had worked with Lundeen, said it ended its relationship with him after the incident came to light. He remains charged with second-degree assault and disorderly conduct over his conduct on the flight. Cahn gave his account of events in a phone interview, saying the confrontation followed two hours of calm conversation before it turned hostile. The allegation that Lundeen struck a police officer adds a separate charge to those stemming from his conduct on board.