FBI: Man Blamed His Homophobia for Attack on Flight Attendant

A Delta Air Lines passenger accused of attacking a flight attendant in first class gave FBI investigators an "excuse" that isn't going to help his case. According to a criminal complaint, Christopher Alexander Morgan told investigators that "he is homophobic and that it is possible he could have been intimidating the flight attendants," NBC reports. "He said that his homophobia may have caused his temper towards the flight attendant to escalate," the complaint states.

Investigators say Morgan refused to put on his seat belt or put his seat in the upright position before the Friday flight from Atlanta to Phoenix took off, the Sacramento Bee reports. When the flight was in the air, he received one alcoholic drink but became angry when he asked for a second one and was offered a nonalcoholic beverage instead, according to the criminal complaint. Morgan allegedly used homophobic slurs and threw a glass of ice at the attendant, investigators say. When the attendant grabbed a phone to notify the captain, Morgan allegedly grabbed the phone out of his hand and hit him with it before using another homophobic slur.

Morgan told the FBI that "the flight attendant was homosexual and that this made him uncomfortable," according to the complaint. "When the flight attendant refused to serve Morgan another drink, he became angry." Delta says the plane was met by law enforcement when it landed in Phoenix, USA Today reports. The airline says it has "zero tolerance for unruly behavior and discrimination at our airports and aboard our aircraft." (More Delta Air Lines stories.)