Suspicious activity on Alaska Airlines jet turns out to be prayers

Police and FBI agents responded Sunday to reports of three men acting suspiciously on an Alaska Airlines flight inbound to Los Angeles but determined that the trio had been praying and posed no threat.

Several passengers reported their concerns to the flight crew after seeing what they thought were wires or other items being used by the men as the plane approached Los Angeles International Aiport at about 8:40 a.m., said FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller.

The men, described as Mexican nationals, were taken off the plane and interviewed and the objects were determined to be leather artifacts used for an orthodox prayer ritual, Eimiller said.

“There were some individuals who didn’t understand the nature of the activities and reported their concerns,” Eimiller said. “The men were cooperative and were released a short time later and there were no charges.”

Alaska Airline flight 241 was inbound from Mexico City with a stop in Los Angeles before departing overseas, Eimiller said. Other passengers were not delayed, she said.

-- Carla Rivera

Comments

[Hakatau]

People are way too PARANOID.

[Ephyaim]

WOW. How interesting that this is discrimination is still going on over Tefillin and Jewish prayer. And on Sarah Palin's Alaska Airlines as well. Yet if anyone wold say anything about a Muslim then that person would be treated as a reprobate and charged with violation of the Muslim's rights. Such a sad day we live in. Let's get Alaska Airlines off the approved airline for Jewish people.

[Yoda]

i will bet 40 antimatter credits, that Republicans, the scared passengers, were.

lilly-white bellied cowards, most right wingers are.

but funny, they still are not.

[Joseph L Cooke]

Completely understandable if the plane was an Airbus.

[Wakata]

We're pretty high-strung these days...

[Charles Grandison Finney]

If those had been Muslims, they would have been jailed.

[A.Malikov]

How truly stupid do you have to be to be a pilot?... it's called tefillin...not artifacts...wow unbelievable in this day and age. Suggest you get out more, maybe take a trip to another country, quit believing the US is the only country in the world...no wonder the US is in the shape it is!

[Edgexxi]

My thing when I fly is to knock on the plane three times before stepping foot on it, which I did even when it was the real Con-Air I flew on to El Paso. If any of you see me doing my ritual, don't panic; I'm only nervous about flying.

[Gershom]

Commented on this article but here is my 2 cents again: Let people pray. People have rights in this country and we aren't about to waive those rights because of bigotry from the atheist minority in this country. Many of our families came to the USA and the 13 colonies for religious freedom. It's called "freedom of religion" not "freedom from religion". Nor is there anything wrong with religious expression in the public square. In fact, the only people who seem to have a problem with religious expression is the militant atheists who hate the people of God. (They cannot attack God, so they attack those who believe in God) And why is it that no-one says to a hedonist who is bragging about his evil sins in public to be silent but the militant atheists attack the moral people of faith when they have the courage to speak up? Double standards harm the community as a whole. The Courts have a good track record of protecting religious speech in the public square and hopefully they will continue this positive trend.

[Verballistic]

@Charles Grandison Finney

Wrong, amigo...Muslims on a flight from Minneapolis to Phoenix tried that ruse in 2006 with loud prayers, REFUSING to take their ASSIGNED seats and being INTENTIONALLY disruptive (one of the many passengers to complain was an Arabic-speaking man who said they were condemning the US for deposing Saddam). For that they were removed from the plane & questioned by the FBI (but never arrested), which prompted a lawsuit instigated by the pro-Hamas "civil rights" group CAIR.

For further background on the incident do a word search for "2006 Flying Imams Lawsuit"...many saw it as a deliberate provocation and the imams who were briefly detained at the airport & placed on another flight, made a $ MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR out-of-court settlement with US Airways.

This is one of the MANY incidents that the folks at CAIR would rather not have anyone bring up. Next time, please brush up your history of CAIR & their many legal maneuverings on behalf of "poor, oppressed Muslims" before making unfounded assertions.

[My opinon means nothing]

"Paranoia will destroy ya!"

[Barbara Phinney]

On one flight to Newark, the man behind me began to pray. He was an Orthodox Jew, and no one batted an eye. As it should be. I felt honoured to have witnessed this and it has added to my understanding and acceptance of the wonderful variety of life on earth. I'm an evangelical Christian who believes God loves everyone. It's time we did, too.

[AJ]

ha "Sarah Palin's Alaska Airlines", she owns an airline now eh? Good to know the media and politicians are succeeding in their fear-based rhetoric. Fear is, after all, the greatest means of control over the masses.

[anon]

The airlines and both TSA have gone mad. Wild beasts who have been unleashed on mostly an innocent public.

[kirby Nicholson]

welcome to us we are living in fear shot first ask question later

[sirene]

It's too bad that even spiritual activity comes under suspicion

[drewwwwwwwwwwwwww]

i really don't mean to sound insensitive. i know that these men had every right to carry out their religious practices, and i support that. but for their own sake, had they exercised a little bit of common sense, this entire ordeal could have been avoided altogether.

anyone in the western hemisphere who been exposed to any sort of media in the past decade is clearly aware that americans are obsessive about airline safety and paranoid about terrorist attacks. i'm sure these men knew this. and in the chance they didn't know, the armed guards, baggage checks, metal detectors, pat-downs, shoe removal, body screenings, and excessive rules about what you may and may not carry with you should have filled in any gaps. so was it REALLY necessary for them to perform a ritual others are not unfamiliar with right then, right there?

[joe]

dont you idiots relize one of the biggest tragedies in American history happened due to a high jacking of a plane…the precautions must be taken and if you don’t like that idea your more than welcome to leave this country for a LESS secure one!!!

[stewart]

how dare they excercise their 1st amendment right to freedom of religion! and on a airliner as well! and, at 35,000 feet, closer their GOD to thee! where the heck was the TSA on this one by allowing such highly dangerous articles on a passenger plane, all those pat downs, x-rays and metal detectors and still? look whats happened here!
oy-vey, why I oughta?
whats next, girl scouts selling cookies in the aisles?

[Sheila B.]

Another brilliant and sophisticated move from the folks that elected Governor Sarah Palin! Apparently, THEY don't read much either...