A visibly Jewish man was forced out of an airplane bathroom in a state of undress and was then subject to a virulent antisemitic rant, the Independent reported Thursday.
Yisroel Liebb, 20, was traveling from Mexico to the US and was arrested by US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents after he was forcibly removed from an airplane bathroom pantsless by the plane's pilot. The agents told Liebb that he had "no rights here."
In his complaint, Liebb said that he felt “sexually violated and embarrassed after having been publicly exposed in the nude."
Liebb, an Orthodox Jew dressed in religious attire, was on a United Airlines flight from Tulum, Mexico, to Houston, Texas, the first leg of his journey to New York. He went to use the facilities about 30 minutes into the journey. He remained in the bathroom for upwards of 30 minutes because he was constipated at the time, the complaint said.
Twenty minutes after Liebb went to use the restroom, a flight attendant woke up Jacob Sebbag, who was sitting next to him and asked him to check if Liebb was alright.
Liebb said he was “experiencing constipation” and that he would be out shortly.
After another ten minutes, the pilot asked Sebbag to accompany him to the restroom to try to get Liebb out. Once there, the pilot “began yelling loudly at Liebb, demanding he leave the bathroom immediately,” the complaint read. The pilot then asked Sebbag to force Liebb out of the bathroom.
Liebb then responded to the pilot from within the restroom, telling him he would be out shortly.
“The pilot became visibly enraged, 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 complaint read, adding that Liebb was exposed to Sebbag, several fight attendants and nearby plane passengers.
“Liebb quickly pulled his pants back to his waist after being allowed to set his feet,” the complaint continued.
Liebb injured his head and legs when they smacked into the restroom’s door frame.
“With Sebbag leading Liebb, the pilot proceeded to repeatedly push the [two] back to their seats while making threats of getting [them] arrested and making scathing remarks about their Judaism, and how ‘Jews act,’” the complaint stated.
After the plane landed the pair were escorted by CPB officers to a detention facility
Once the plane landed in Houston, several CPB officers boarded the plane and arrested Liebb and Sebbag, taking them to a detention facility inside the terminal. During the walk from the plane, Liebb said that he had a legal right to know why they were being detained, after which the officers responded, “This isn’t a country or state; we are Homeland [Security], you have no rights here,” according to the complaint. One of the officers, in addition, reportedly tightened the handcuffs on Liebb’s wrist in response.
Liebb pleaded with the officers, saying that they were being cooperative and that he was not a threat. Liebb and Sebbag, however, were thrown into separate cells and handcuffed to tables. At the same time, they and their luggage were “subjected to intrusive, unconsented, unwarranted and unreasonable searches,” according to the complaint.
Liebb and Sebbag were released without charges; however, they missed connecting flights to New York. They were rebooked for free on another flight the next day; however, the pair incurred additional hotel and food costs during the delay.
The too-tight handcuffs, according to the pair, caused severe wrist pain, which persisted for days after the incident.
The pair highlighted the antisemitic rhetoric of the pilot, which Liebb claimed was the reason why the encounter was escalated.
Liebb and Sebbag are demanding damages in a total that will be determined at trial, in addition to attorneys’ fees.
