When air travel resumed just after the pandemic, there were numerous cases of air rage. Airplane passengers got into arguments, and fist flights almost became the norm. All these were blamed on severe divisive rhetoric of President Donald Trump.
Experts said it was also because of pent-up frustrations and anger.
A similar pattern is emerging again. There have been numerous stories of airline passengers getting into unnecessary arguments. One similar instance was seen in early March.
The FBI arrested Asterius Rulamka at the Washington Reagan National Airport. He was travelling from Wichita to Washington, DC, and reportedly caused a rampage aboard an American Airlines aircraft. This happened on the same route and at the same time as that of DC Collison.
Rulamka is accused of verbally abusing a flight attendant and assaulting a passenger. While passengers aboard tried to subdue him, he attempted to strike another passenger, according to CBS News.
Texas man accused of violent assault on American Airlines flight from Wichita to D.C. referenced Trump to FBI
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— CBS News (@cbsnews.com) 11 March 2025 at 06:50
When arrested, a case was filed against him. According to court filings, witnesses said he jumped out of his seat just as the plane was ready to land. He then threatened a staff member and said that he would- “f— him up upon landing,”.
The court affidavit states that, observing his violent and threatening behavior, several passengers started filming the incident on their cellphones.
Rulamka allegedly got angry when he saw that he was being filmed. He then confronted one of these passengers and was shouting. He then hit the victim in the face close to his left eye, resulting in bruises and a bloodshot eye. All these details are mentioned in his warrant.
It took more than four people, including passengers and crew members, to get hold of him. When he was subdued, he was handed over to the FBI.
Rulamka kept shouting Donald Trump’s name during his outbursts in front of the passengers. He kept the same verbal abuse up when he was taken into custody by the FBI. He kept shouting that he wanted to meet President Donald Trump.
Tonight, Donald Trump led a parade of lies on the economy, Social Security, tariffs, immigration, and foreign policy as well as his administration’s efforts to dismantle our government, yet failed to mention a single thing he’s doing to lower costs for American families.
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— Congressman Gabe Amo (@amo.house.gov) 5 March 2025 at 10:03
Though his real motivation and cause of his outburst are still unclear, it is assumed that he wanted to convey his displeasure to the president. It is speculated that Mr. Rulamka was angry with the Donald Trump’s administration immigration policies.
These speculations were made given that Rulamka had a prior immigration infraction in 2014/ After being arrested when the plane landed, Rulamka is presently incarcerated on a federal assault accusation.
American Airlines also released a statement. In it, the airline confirmed that it does not and will not tolerate violence. It also thanked its staff for their professional behavior and appreciated their keeping a cool head.
Since then, Donald Trump has passed other executive orders that have caused the nation severe financial loss. Even the stock market has plummeted.
What remains to be seen is whether air rage will become a norm again, just like during the pandemic.
