Shannon Epstein, the niece of former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, was removed from a Spirit Airlines flight after she accused a Latino family of "smuggling cocaine" and created a ruckus in the flight. Resisting arrest, Epstein also bit one of the deputies while injuring five others.
Incident Occurred After Flight Left the Gate
The incident occurred at 6.00 am on a flight from New Orleans, Louisiana to New Jersey on Thanksgiving Day. Nola.com reported that after boarding the flight, the 25-year-old confronted a Latino family enquiring if they were "smuggling cocaine".
Later as she became increasingly irate and disruptive in the plane as it began taxing on the runway, the crew members asked for her removal following which the plane returned to the gate, the outlet reported.
However, instead of peacefully getting down from the plane, Epstein got "extremely combative" when approached by deputies and injured the cops while resisting arrest. In the scuffle, she injured six deputies, biting one on the arm and breaking the skin, and kicking another in the groin, reported the outlet.
Epstein Threatened Officers Claiming Her Uncle's "Friendship" with Trump
Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office spokesperson Jason Rivarde told NOLA.com that Epstein also threatened the officers, saying her uncle is friends with former President Donald Trump and that she knows powerful people. Finally, she had to be handcuffed to wheelchair, claimed Rivarde.
Epstein has been charged with six counts of battery on a police officer, three counts of disturbing the peace, one of resisting arrest by force and one of remaining after forbidden.
The incident sparked a lot of reactions on social media where users dubbed Epstein as racist and privileged. "Holy shit!! The entitlement! Who acts like this?! I'm sorry, I know this is messed up, but it's also really funny to read. Can you imagine?!" tweeted a user.
"@GovChristie NIECE...IS A DUMB, RACIST SACK OF CRAP. "Drug mules??" The airport should've checked her luggage! Since she wanna accuse people of crimes!" wrote another.
"Chris Christie's niece, Shannon Epstein was removed from a flight because of her racist and bigoted comments about a family. She attacked the officers that were charged with her removal. How very Republican of her," expressed a user.
