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He Groped A Woman On A Southwest Flight. His Defense? ‘Trump Said It’s OK’

He Groped A Woman On A Southwest Flight. His Defense? ‘Trump Said It’s OK’

Written by Ann Brown

Nov 01, 2018

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Imagine you’re asleep on a flight and you wake up to find someone groping you. This happened to one woman on a Southwest Airlines flight and when the accused man was questioned, he said the president of the U.S. said it was OK.

Here’s what happened on Southwest Flight 5421 bound for New Mexico.

A female passenger, now known only as C.W., fell asleep and was awoken by a passenger behind her grabbing “the right part of her right breast,” according to the complaint she has filed. At first, she thought the touching was by accident, but then about 30 minutes later she “felt fingers slowly grab the back of her arm, squeezing above the elbow then slowly and ‘attentively’ grab her right side, again around her ribs and bra line,” the complaint read.

So C.W. stood up and confronted the man behind her. “She asked him why he thought it was all right to touch her like that, and asked a flight attendant to help her change seats,” NBC News reported. The female passenger was moved to the rear of the plane.

Southwest Airlines
President Donald Trump speaks to media as he meets with crew and passengers of Southwest Airlines Flight 1380 in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, May 1, 2018. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

 

C.W. described the man as having thick and hairy fingers with dirty nails. The police arrested Bruce Michael Alexander, 49, of Florida. He was detained when the plane landed in Albuquerque. And when he was being handcuffed, Alexander told federal agents that President Donald Trump said it’s allowable to grab women by their “private parts.”

Alexander was referring to a 2005 video in which Trump can be heard saying: “And when you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything. Grab ’em by the p****.”

The affidavit also said that neither Alexander or the woman had not been drinking or taking any sleep aids. According to a news release from the U.S. attorney’s office, Alexander could face up to two years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

“We take protection of our customers very seriously, and safety is at the forefront of everything we do at Southwest,” the airline told USA TODAY when reached for comment. “As part of this operating philosophy, Southwest flight attendants are trained in a wide range of sensitive customer issues. When aware of a potentially harmful situation – whether first-hand or reported by someone else – our flight attendants are trained to re-seat customers and notify the pilots to request law enforcement, as appropriate. We cooperate with law enforcement to protect our customers and crews.”

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