Woman arrested at Las Vegas airport over mask disturbance
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Las Vegas Metro police arrested a woman at McCarran International Airport over the weekend after a disturbance on a plane.
Katrina Alspaugh, of Las Vegas, faces one charge of violating airport rules following the incident Sunday, according to an arrest report.
Officers arrived to a gate in Terminal 1 after a call of a woman refusing to wear her mask onboard an Allegiant Air flight, the report said.
The woman, later identified as Alspaugh, had been involved in a prior incident at the security checkpoint, police said. During that incident, Alspaugh reportedly attempted to punch another passenger who pointed out Alspaugh was not wearing her mask, police said.
The other passenger refused to press charges and Alspaugh proceeded to board her flight.
When officers arrived at the Allegiant flight gate, Alspaugh was standing on the jet bridge. An airline representative had removed her from the flight and issued her a trespass notice from the company.
According to police, as Alspaugh was being taken off the jet bridge in a wheelchair, she yelled obscenities and “Let’s go Brandon.” Police said this only added to the disturbance and they arrested her.
Alspaugh was booked into the Clark County Detention Center.
Federal law requires all passengers on public transportation, including air travel, within the United States, to wear a face mask except when actively eating or drinking.
Since November of last year, the FAA has reported nearly 4,000 unruly passenger incidents involving face masks. Since January, the agency has reported 100 incidents involving physical violence.