A Marine Corps veteran was temporarily booted off a Delta plane for wearing a T-shirt that a flight attendant described as “threatening,” reports say.
Catherine Banks told NBC Bay Area that she was preparing to visit her sister last Wednesday when she was stopped at San Francisco International Airport over her shirt that read “Do not give in to the war within. End veteran suicide.”
“A male flight attendant was saying, ‘Ma’am, ma’am.’ I looked around, like, ‘Who was he talking to?’ And it was me. He said, ‘You need to get off the plane,’ and I was like, ‘What did I do?'” Banks told the station.
“He said that shirt you’re wearing is threatening,” Banks continued, recalling a conversation she says she had with the Delta employee. “I said, ‘Are you kidding me? I’m a Marine Corps vet. I’m going to see my Marine sister. I’ve been in the Marine Corps for 22 years and worked for the Air Force for 15 years. I’m going to visit her.’ He said, ‘I don’t care about your service, and I don’t care about her service. The only way you’re going to get back on the plane is if you take it off right now.'”
Banks told NBC Bay Area that she eventually was allowed back onto the aircraft after putting on a sweatshirt, but was told to sit in the rear of the plane. She reportedly missed her connecting flight as her plane was delayed because of the incident.
Delta did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday from FOX Business.
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The airline told the Marine Corps Times that “We appreciate [Banks’] patience as we continued to work to understand what occurred during this event,” and “most importantly, we are thankful for her service to our country.”
On its website, Delta says it may “refuse to transport or may remove passengers from its aircraft” if a passenger’s “conduct, attire, hygiene or odor creates an unreasonable risk of offense or annoyance to other passengers.”
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“I feel like they just took my soul away,” Banks said to NBC Bay Area. “I’m not a bad person, and that T-shirt, I should be allowed to support myself and veterans.”
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