Passenger accused of attacking Muslim woman on flight to Detroit on 9/11 anniversary

BY MITCHELL WILLETTS

(CHARLOTTE OBSERVER) A passenger was arrested by airport police in Michigan on Saturday — the anniversary of 9/11 — after attacking a Muslim woman on a flight from Atlanta to Detroit, officials say.

The passenger began “acting belligerently” from the moment she boarded the Spirit Airlines flight, according to a Council on American-Islamic Relations news release.

She verbally harassed crew members and fellow passengers during the flight, but her behavior escalated upon landing at the Detroit Metro Airport, council officials said.

Aicha Toure, a Muslim woman who was wearing a head scarf, spoke up, asking her to stop berating another passenger. She then turned her attention to Toure, calling her a number of things including “Muslim terrorist,” according to CAIR.

The woman stopped mid-tirade, when she noticed passengers had begun recording her, and punched Toure, CAIR officials said.