The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a warning after a video surfaced showing angry fliers heckling Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) over his refusal to support President Trump’s attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
In a statement released Friday on Twitter linking back to a longer blog post on the agency’s website, the FAA urged passengers to “always follow crew instructions. They are there to keep everyone safe.”
“Airline passengers: Unruly behavior on an airplane may violate federal law,” the agency’s statement continued.
“Federal law prohibits you from physically assaulting or threatening to physically assault the crew, and anyone else, on an aircraft. You could be subject to fines of up to $35K and imprisonment for such conduct,” the account tweeted on Saturday.
Video went viral last week showing Romney and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) being harassed at airports in Salt Lake City and Washington, D.C., respectively.
The two Republican senators have faced a backlash from Trump supporters after they refused to join other GOP senators such as Ted Cruz (Texas) and Josh Hawley (Mo.) in objecting to the 2020 election results in Arizona and Pennsylvania, two states won by Trump’s opponent, President-elect Joe Biden.
Supporters of the president calling for more Republicans to join the effort were involved in a violent, deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday that left lawmakers, staffers and journalists fleeing for their lives and hiding in secure locations for hours. Congress eventually certified Biden’s win.