Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's tumultuous campaign has been polarizing people on the ground for well over a year now. But as November's election draws closer the tension is spreading to the sky.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that a local man was arrested Saturday after allegedly berating Milwaukee County Sheriff and well-known Trump supporter David A. Clarke Jr. over the course of a two-hour American Airlines flight from Milwaukee to Charlotte, North Carolina.
Thirty-six-year-old Preston Bluntson was taken into custody by Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Saturday night and charged with intoxication and disruptive behavior.
"The guy was very abusive," an unidentified passenger told the Journal Sentinel. "Probably the last 20 minutes it really escalated and focused on Clarke."
[READMORE] READ MORE: Donald Trump Calls US Airports 'Third-World' In 1st Presidential Debate [/READMORE]
"In all my years flying, I've never seen anything like it," the passenger added. "The sheriff handled himself extremely well. It could have gotten a lot worse because the guy was not backing down."
The passenger told the Journal Sentinel that Bluntson, who is African-American, directed a racial epithet at the 60-year-old Clarke multiple times and said he is "not one of us." Bluntson also allegedly accused the sheriff of "closing our parks."
Bluntson appeared to be drinking throughout the flight, according to witnesses, and efforts made by several people aboard the plane to calm him down were unsuccessful until Clarke finally held him down once the flight landed.
Clarke, who has been in office since 2002, regularly appears on Fox News and was a speaker at this past July's 2016 Republican National Convention.
For the latest travel news, updates and deals, subscribe to the daily TravelPulse newsletter.
Topics From This Article to Explore
