Anthony Williams, 63, and Katsiaryna Shasholka, 34, were off on their post-wedding break when suspicious cabin crew allegedly reported him to the authorities
The couple were going from Pheonix, Arizona, to Miami(Image: Getty Images)
A former cop has launched a legal battle against American Airlines, claiming he was wrongly accused of ‘trafficking’ his younger Russian bride during their honeymoon flight. Anthony Williams, 63, and his new wife Katsiaryna Shasholka, 34, were jetting off on September 13, 2022, for some post-wedding bliss when they were allegedly dobbed in by a nosey passenger.
The ex-police officer is now suing the airline for what he calls a “heinous” accusation made against him due to racial profiling. Court documents reveal that the couple was flying from Phoenix to Miami on flight AA2408 when a fellow flyer raised suspicions about them, suggesting Williams might be trafficking Shasholka – an offence that could land someone in the clink for up to 20 years.
The lawsuit alleges that instead of grilling the couple or probing the claim, the flight crew snitched to the cops. Upon arrival, the lovebirds say they were marched off the plane by American Airlines staff and “falsely imprisoned”. It comes as a drunk plane passenger ran up and down the aisle “trying to expose himself”.
Katsiaryna Shasholka and Anthony Williams(Image: Court Filing)
The legal documents state that the couple were “made to wait, confused and embarrassed, as the other passengers deplaned and walked by them”. They were then detained and questioned by Miami-Dade police officers, reports the Mirror US.
The papers reveal that due to this incident, the couple suffered from “mental pain and suffering, sleeplessness, paranoia, panic attacks, fear, anxiety, [and] embarrassment”.
Williams and Shasholka are now seeking unspecified damages exceeding $75,000 from American Airlines, the crew members, and the individual who initially reported them. They claim this is compensation for racial discrimination, false imprisonment, intentional infliction of emotional distress and negligence.
A nosey passenger is said to have grassed on them(Image: NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Jasmine Rand, the couple’s representative, provided a statement from Williams to Law and Crime in which he described their detention as “unfathomable”.
He stated: “I am a former law enforcement officer. I worked hard to fight crime, and to be accused of committing a heinous crime is unfathomable. I was accused of human trafficking my wife because of my race.
“I fought hard to uphold the law in this country and I will fight hard now to uphold the laws that prohibit racial discrimination.”
Mirror approached American Airlines for a response.