Days after thousands of President Donald Trump's supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol in riots that left five people dead, videos began to fill social media that reported to show some of those rioters being told they could not board an airplane.
One of those videos showed a video of a man sobbing in an airport and yelling about being kicked off a plane.
"People who broke into the Capitol Wednesday are now learning they are on No-Fly lists pending the full investigation. They are not happy about this," read one tweet that included the video.
Watch the video in the tweet below. Note that it contains profanity.
UPDATE: Per American Airlines, this was a passenger after being denied flight CLT-DEN, but not because of the No-Fly List. Rather, this pax apparently refused to comply with crew safety instructions regarding a face covering. I was initially given incorrect information.
— Ray [REDACTED] (@RayRedacted) January 12, 2021
However, there is no evidence that the man featured in that particular video was involved in the riots at the Capitol.
According to a statement from American Airlines, the video was taken on Friday at Charlotte Douglas International Airport. The company confirmed that the man in the video was removed from a flight to Denver for refusing to comply with the company's policies requiring face coverings for all passengers over the age of 2.
The original version of the video, which was initially shared on TikTok, correctly noted that the man had been removed from the flight for refusing to wear a face covering, according to CNN. However, as the video began to cross social media platforms, social media users took liberties with the facts.
American Airlines added that the man to a list of passengers to which it will refuse service, pending an investigation.
While reports of unruly passengers returning from Washington did prompt a warning from the FAA, according to USA Today, there is no evidence that those who participated in the U.S. Capitol insurrection have been added to the no-fly list.
USA Today also reports that Rep. Bennie G. Thompson, D-Miss., has urged TSA and Homeland Security to add those who participated in the riots to the list.
"We already saw reports of 'unruly mobs' in air on the way to Washington, D.C.," Thompson said, according to USA Today. "It does not take much imagination to envision how they might act out on their way out of D.C. if allowed to fly unfettered. This is an action that TSA and the FBI, by law, are able to take but, to my knowledge, have not yet taken. Alleged perpetrators of a domestic terrorist attack who have been identified by the FBI should be held accountable."
