A haredi American passenger is claiming that a United Airlines pilot forcibly removed him from the plane's bathroom without giving him a chance to pull his pants up, the Associated Press reported. The passenger, identified as Yisroel Leibb from New Jersey, launched a federal lawsuit this week against both the airline and the US Department of Homeland Security. According to the report, DHS officers boarded the plane immediately after it landed, and led him away in handcuffs. Liebb and another haredi passenger said the pilot of the Tulum, Mexico - Houston, Texas flight made disparaging remarks about the Jewish faith, and that the two missed a connection to NYC due to US Customs and Border Protection searches. The customs officials also placed the two Jewish passengers in holding cells. According to the lawsuit, which was filed Wednesday, Liebb was in the bathroom for about 20 minutes when a flight attendant woke the second traveler, Jacob Sebbag, from a nap and asked him to check on Liebb. Liebb explained that he was constipated and told Sebbag that he would be out soon, information which Sebbag proceeded to relay to the flight attendant. However, 10 minutes later, the pilot told Sebbag to check on Liebb again. The pilot then yelled at Liebb to immediately exit the bathroom, and Liebb responded that he was "finishing up" and would be out in a minute. At this point, the pilot decided to break the lock, force the door open, and pull Liebb out with his pants still around his ankles, exposing his private parts to Sebbag, flight crew, and nearby passengers. The pilot then pushed both men back to their seats, while threatening to have them arrested and making comments about how "Jews act." Six CBP officers boarded the flight after it landed and escorted both men off the plane. They told Liebb that, "This isn't county or state. We are Homeland. You have no rights here." United Airlines, which booked both on a free flight to NYC after their ordeal was finished, declined comment to AP . CBP Assistant Commissioner for Public Affairs Hilton Beckham told AP : "CBP Officers responded to reports of a disturbance on a flight at the request of the airline. Due to the ongoing litigation, we are unable to provide any further comment."
