A Black newlywed couple has filed a lawsuit against American Airlines after being accused of trafficking his wife moments after the two took an adorable mid-flight selfie while en route to their honeymoon destination.
Anthony Williams, 63, claims he was racially profiled while traveling from his home in Arizona to Florida with his new bride, Russian national Katsiaryna Shasholka, 34.
The duo smiled brightly for a photo after boarding the American Airlines flight and were shocked when they arrived in Florida but were detained.
According to the lawsuit, a fellow passenger suspected Shasholka was being trafficked and reported his concerns to crew members, who alerted law enforcement in Florida — without bothering to interview the couple.
Williams claims in the lawsuit that they were “wrongfully imprisoned by American Airlines employees who escorted them off the plane.”
He said they “had to wait in confusion and embarrassment as the other passengers got off the plane and walked past them.”
They were later interrogated by police officers “working for the Miami-Dade Police Department, and were detained, falsely imprisoned, interrogated and humiliated.”
The couple is seeking damages of more than $75,000 for racial discrimination.
The duo smiled happily for a photo after boarding the American Airlines flight and were shocked when they were detained upon arrival in Florida
Williams claims in the lawsuit that they were “wrongfully imprisoned by American Airlines employees who escorted them off the plane.”
“There was nothing in our interactions throughout the flight that would indicate anyone was being held against their will,” Williams told The Independent.
“We were just two people having a good time.”
The civil suit was filed by attorney Jasmine Rand, who also represented the families of George Floyd and Trayvon Martin.
Floyd was killed by a white police officer during an arrest, while Martin was an unarmed black teenager who was shot dead by his neighborhood watch.
“My client is a retired police officer,” Rand told the publication.
“He has fought crime all his life, and now it is unfathomable to be accused of a crime as heinous as trafficking his own wife. He is committed to fighting for justice for himself and for others who have suffered racial discrimination at the hands of American Airlines.”
In the lawsuit, Williams described a pattern of racial profiling within American Airlines.
In September 2023, John Mayer’s former guitarist David Ryan Harris was accused of trafficking his own children and a similar situation occurred where he and his family were detained when they landed in Los Angeles.
And in January 2024, three black men who were strangers and did not sit together were removed from a flight after another passenger complained of “offensive body odor.” The men filed a lawsuit and settled confidentially.