Feds: Air passenger tried to open door to publicize anti-vax views

A Delta Air Lines passenger is facing federal charges after he allegedly tried to open an emergency door in-flight in the hope that other passengers would record him sharing his views on coronavirus vaccines, prosecutors announced Monday.

Michael Brandon Demarre, 32, was on a Friday flight from Salt Lake City to Portland, Ore., when he removed a plastic covering over the handle on the aircraft’s emergency exit and forcefully pulled on the handle “with his full body weight,” Justice Department officials wrote in a news release. After a flight attendant intervened and demanded he let go of the handle, Demarre complied and was physically restrained by the flight crew, officials say.

When asked why he attempted to open the emergency door in-flight, the Portland resident told police that he hoped passengers onboard would start filming him so that he had “the opportunity to share his thoughts on COVID19 vaccines,” according to an affidavit from an FBI agent.