Political | Process

“We live in a fascist state.”

Rep. Greg Stanton (D-Ariz.) posted on X on Tuesday that the American Airlines flight carrying him along with three Republicans from the Grand Canyon State — Reps. Eli Crane, Andy Biggs and Paul Gosar — was forced to make an “emergency stop in Kansas City” after an unruly passenger caused a disturbance following takeoff from Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.

The flight had been in the air for about 2 hours and 41 minutes when it was diverted to Kansas City International Airport, landing safely around 6:15 p.m., according to FlightAware.

A video posted by another passenger on the flight after the emergency landing shows Kansas City police officers boarding the Airbus A320 and escorting an unidentified woman off the plane.

“We live in a fascist state,” she told the flight.

Roughly an hour after the diversion, the plane took off from Kansas City and touched down at Reagan National Airport at 9:01 p.m.

Stanton later thanked the Kansas City Police Department “for handling the situation professionally and without incident.”

While it’s unknown what disturbance the unhinged passenger caused that forced the flight to make an emergency landing, American Airlines confirmed it was due to the actions of “a disruptive customer.”

“On Nov. 11, American Airlines flight 1218, with service from Phoenix (PHX) to Washington, DC (DCA), diverted to Kansas City (MCI) due to a disruptive customer,” the airline told KSHB 41.

“Law enforcement met the flight and removed the customer, and the flight later re-departed for DCA, where it landed normally. We thank our customers for their patience and our crew members for their professionalism.”