Photo: Alamy
A flight carrying four members of Congress to Washington, D.C., was diverted this week after a passenger caused a disturbance and shouted “We live in a fascist state,” according to officials and witnesses.
Rep. Greg Stanton (D-Ariz.) said on X that the American Airlines flight from Phoenix to Washington was forced to make an “emergency stop in Kansas City” after the incident. Stanton was traveling with three Republican congressmen from Arizona, including Reps. Eli Crane, Andy Biggs and Paul Gosar, to vote on ending the 43-day government shutdown.
The flight, American Airlines Flight 1218, had been in the air for about two hours and 41 minutes before diverting to Kansas City International Airport, where it landed safely around 6:15 p.m., according to FlightAware data.
A video posted by a passenger showed police boarding the Airbus A320 after landing and escorting an unidentified woman off the plane. As officers led her away, the woman apologized to passengers and declared, “We live in a fascist state.”
American Airlines confirmed the diversion was due to “a disruptive customer.”
“On Nov. 11, American Airlines flight 1218, with service from Phoenix (PHX) to Washington, DC (DCA), diverted to Kansas City (MCI) due to a disruptive customer,” the airline said in a statement to KSHB 41. “Law enforcement met the flight and removed the customer, and the flight later re-departed for DCA, where it landed normally. We thank our customers for their patience and our crew members for their professionalism.”
The flight departed again roughly an hour later and arrived at Reagan National Airport at 9:01 p.m.
It remains unclear what behavior prompted the diversion, though the passenger was detained by law enforcement.
Stanton said he was on his way to vote against the Republican-backed continuing resolution to reopen the government when the emergency landing occurred. His Republican colleagues supported the measure.
On Wednesday, President Donald Trump signed the funding bill that ended the nation’s longest government shutdown. The House had passed the legislation earlier in the day, restoring pay for federal employees and resuming key programs suspended during the standoff.
