Does a Video Show a Participant in the Capitol Riot Finding Out He’s on the ‘No Fly List’?

The woman who initially posted it to TikTok described it as a ‘meltdown’ over wearing a mask.

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A video has gone viral on social media, which users purport shows a participant in the storming of the Capitol finding out that he has been placed on the no-fly list.

The head of a flight attendants union has suggested that airlines should ban the rioters, and Rep. Bennie Thompson has urged “the Transportation Security Administration and the Federal Bureau of Investigation to use their authorities to add the names of all identified individuals involved in the attack to the federal No-Fly List and keep them off planes.” However, it’s not clear such a step has been taken, and the only known instance of an airline banning participants in the riot came after 14 rioters flying home from Washington, D.C., were “non-mask compliant, rowdy, argumentative” and harassed crew members on an Alaska Airlines flight.

The viral video lacks sufficient information to determine what is happening in it or where it occurred. The video originated on TikTok, where the woman who uploaded it included the caption: “Homeboy had a full toddler level meltdown bc he was told to wear a mask.” There is no current evidence to suggest that the man in the video was kicked off of his flight because he was part of the riots in D.C.. Had he been placed on the no-fly list, the man wouldn’t have even been allowed to board the plane, as his status on the list would have been confirmed well before that step in travelling. No-fly list screening “takes place prior to the passenger’s arrival at the checkpoint. Individuals known to pose a threat to aviation who are on the No Fly list will not be issued a boarding pass and are not allowed to fly,” according to a statement shared with The Dispatch Fact Check by R. Carter Langston, media relations manager for the TSA.

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  1. Avatar photo
    CynthiaW

    Suppose there was just ... no more TikTok. Wouldn't that be a spectacular miracle?

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  2. Avatar photo
    Connie

    I’m a flight attendant for a legacy airline. What you say is true.

    But, I would like to take a moment, while we are on this topic, to express my utter dismay at what happened to Senator Romney on his flight to DCA.

    If I had been a flight attendant on that plane, I would have never allowed that chanting. First and foremost, it’s a safety issue. I would have informed the pax that pilots and flight attendants need to be able to communicate with each other and the passengers over the PA system.

    I would keep the schoolyard comment I was thinking to myself.

    I would also inform my pax that our airline employees span the globe, different nationalities, cultures, points of view, and we treat each other with dignity and respect. Hence, we expect our pax to treat each other the same way while they are on our aircraft.

    Then, while we were still on the ground, I would give all pax the opportunity to exit the aircraft if they felt they could not abide by these instructions. If they remained, it meant they were agreeing to the terms of service.

    If any pax chose, after this point, to disregard these instructions, I would have to inform the Captain, and there could be repercussions once we landed.

    Quite frankly, I do not want to type reports after I land. I have no desire to go there. I doubt you want to go there, either.

    I would have then, at some point, discreetly let Senator Romney know he could remain on the aircraft with us until security arrived to escort him off the plane.

    That’s my job. That’s what I do.

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