A federal judge sentenced a man to three years of probation for an incident on an airplane. (Getty Images)
LINCOLN – A federal judge has sentenced a 37-year-old man to three years’ probation after he shouted “God is real” while on a plane en route from Omaha, started chatting about demons and tried to open the passenger door. to open the cabin.
Wesley Orban of Ireton, Iowa, was convicted last week of assault in a special jurisdiction for aircraft, Susan Lehr, the U.S. attorney for Nebraska, said Monday. Chief District Judge Robert Rossiter Jr. presided over the case investigated by the FBI.
Orban was a passenger on a Delta Airlines flight that was scheduled to depart from Omaha’s Eppley Airfield to New York’s LaGuardia International Airport on November 9, 2023. Shortly after the plane’s outer doors closed after boarding, and as the plane taxied to the runway, Orbán reportedly began shouting about God and demons.
He left his seat, ran to the front of the plane and began banging on the cabin door, trying to open it, according to a media statement from Lehr. Orban had physical difficulty with a flight attendant who came between Orban and the cockpit door.
He was overpowered by passengers and removed from the plane before takeoff.
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