Two passengers on a United Airlines flight alleged in a federal lawsuit filed Wednesday that a pilot forcibly removed one of them from the plane’s bathroom and made antisemitic remarks to them.
Yisroel Liebb and Jacob Sebbag filed suit in New York against the airline, the Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection and the Transportation Security Administration.
The pair allege the incident took place on a flight from Tulum, Mexico to Houston, Texas on Jan. 28 where Leibb was forced from the bathroom and both were detained by CBP.
The lawsuit states that the plaintiffs experienced “significant unwarranted delay in their travel plans, physical injuries, great discomfort, extreme emotional distress, public embarrassment,” and that Liebb “feels sexually violated and embarrassed after having been publicly exposed in the nude.”
DHS alleged in a statement to USA TODAY Monday that the airline requested the department to “step in” and that the passengers were in possession of ketamine. USA TODAY reached out to the lawyer listed for the plaintiffs in the filing Monday and did not receive an immediate response.
USA TODAY reached out to United Airlines Sunday, who declined comment.
The plaintiffs state that shortly after the flight took off, Leibb went to the bathroom and experienced constipation.
About 20 minutes after Leibb went into the bathroom, a flight attendant asked Sebbag to check on Leibb. Leibb told Sebbag the nature of the situation and the latter relayed it to the flight attendant, according to the lawsuit.
Ten minutes after the check, the lawsuit alleges that a pilot yelled at Leibb while he was still in the bathroom, demanding that he leave immediately and that Sebbag force his traveling companion out of the lavatory.
The pilot then broke the lock on the door and forced the door to the bathroom open, pulling Liebb out of the bathroom with his pants still around his ankles, the lawsuit alleges.
As the pair were forced back to their seat, the lawsuit alleges that the pilot, “(made) threats of getting the Plaintiffs arrested and (made) scathing remarks about their Judaism, and how ‘Jews act.'” Both men were wearing “traditional Jewish garb,” according to the lawsuit.
Once the plane landed, both travelers were handcuffed and taken from the plane by CBP officers. The lawsuit quotes one of the officers as saying, “this isn’t county or state, we are homeland, you have no rights here,” after Leibb demanded the justification for being detained. Both men are American citizens.
The lawsuit states that the detainment caused the pair to miss a connecting flight to New York. The airline provided a flight the next day but the lawsuit states that the cost for food and lodging in Houston negated the value of the free flight.
This story was updated to add new information.

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