A man is facing federal assault charges after he purportedly threatened a flight attendant and struck a person filming his rant before trying to hit the crew member.
Asterius Mutayoba Rulamka, 54, was arrested after Wednesday’s confrontation on American Airlines flight 5574 from Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport in Kansas to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
When the plane made its final descent, he got up from his seat in the 14th row and talked to a flight attendant, according to an affidavit from FBI Special Agent Elizabeth Kilcommons. Mr. Rulamka then sat down in the back of the plane and started yelling at and threatening the attendant.
Other passengers started recording the incident. Mr. Rulamka noticed one of them, identified in the affidavit as Victim 2, and went on the attack, grabbing arms, taking off hat and glasses and hitting the face multiple times. This left Victim 2 with bruises and a bloodshot left eye.
The flight attendant, identified as Victim 1, along with another crew member and other passengers, moved to help Victim 2. Mr. Rulamka then tried to hit Victim 1, who successfully dodged but lacerated a finger and broke a fingernail in the process.
Mr. Rulamka then started running up and down the aisle before being restrained. When the flight landed, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Police Department contacted the FBI about the incident.
“We do not tolerate violence and thank our team members for their professionalism,” American Airlines told CBS News in a statement.
Mr. Rulamka made multiple statements once in custody. This included saying he had come to the District of Columbia to speak with President Trump because he was “mad,” according to Ms. Kilcommons’ affidavit.
He had a Texas driver’s license on his person, and further investigation found he was encountered by the Department of Homeland Security as a nonimmigrant visa overstay in 2014.
Immigration proceedings against Mr. Rulamka are pending, though the affidavit didn’t specify his country of origin. He faces assault charges in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia and is being kept in custody until a detention hearing Thursday, according to court documents.
