Woman Screams at and Attempts to Kick Airport Staff in Outburst Caught on Video
Selomit Velez-Rodriguez, 46, was arrested and charged with battery, criminal mischief and resisting an officer without violence
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Colson Thayer joined PEOPLE in 2024 as an apprentice. He has previously contributed to Des Moines CITYVIEW Magazine and Iowa Public Radio.
NEED TO KNOW
- A 46-year-old woman was arrested after having an outburst at Orlando International Airport last week
- The woman was allegedly denied boarding to a Southwest Airlines flight on Aug. 14
- “It’s not your brother who’s dying,” the woman shouted at other passengers in the clip
A plane passenger’s meltdown in the Orlando International Airport last week has gone viral.
On Aug. 14, a woman was allegedly unable to board her Southwest Airlines flight. As a result, she lashed out at the gate agent.
A fellow traveler, Peyton Turbeville, recorded the passenger as she screamed at the airline employees.
“Motherf—–,” the woman says at the beginning of the clip. “Are you kidding me? Are you kidding me?”
Meanwhile, what appears to be a Southwest employee wearing a pink polo shirt tells others to back away from the hostile customer. After he attempted to talk to her in a calm manner, the woman kicked towards the man.
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“That’s assault,” Turbeville can be heard saying behind the camera.
After taunting the employees and chasing them behind the counter, the woman slams a computer monitor with her phone three times.
“Two flights wasted,” she shouts. “Three planes, after 45 minutes.”
Turbeville told Storyful the incident occurred after the woman did not make the standby list for three flights.
After following the employee in a pink polo out into the terminals main walkway, she screamed at other travelers to call the police.
“I have my rights,” she said. “So that’s what I want, the police.”
Then she confronted another traveler sitting in the waiting area: “It’s not your brother who’s dying, it’s not your brother that you need to go disconnect, right?”
The woman made her way back to the Southwest counter to punch a different monitor, completely knocking it off the surface.
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A representative for the Orlando Police Department confirmed in a statement to PEOPLE that officers responded to a report of a battery around 9:30 p.m. local time last Thursday.
“Witnesses told officers that the suspect, identified as Selomit Velez-Rodriguez… attempted to disrupt the boarding process of a flight, struck an airline employee, and damaged a computer monitor and keyboard valued at more than $1,000.”
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According to police, while being taken into custody, the 46-year-old “tried to pull away from the officers.”
PEOPLE reached out to Southwest Airlines and the Orlando International Airport for comment, but both deferred to local law enforcement.
Per court records, Velez-Rodriguez is charged with battery, criminal mischief and resisting an officer without violence.
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In July, another viral video caught a woman’s tumultuous meltdown after her flight out of Paris was cancelled. New York-bound Norse Atlantic Airways flight 301 was set to depart at 8:15 p.m. local time on July 3. But, passengers were alerted just before midnight that their trip was cancelled due to mechanical issues.
One of the passengers, Erianne Freign, told SWNS a woman dressed in a white T-shirt and yellow pants became frustrated after the airline wouldn’t provide hotel accommodations. In a video taken by Freign, the guest shouts and curses at airline employees.
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After an intense reaction, a police officer grabbed her by the forearm and dragged her behind the counter.
Norse Atlantic Airways told PEOPLE in a statement, “Due to issues in Paris, including the ATC strike in France, we experienced unfortunate and temporary irregularities. Passengers were, and will be further followed up. We are unable to comment on specific passenger incidents out of respect for the privacy of those involved. Our team always prioritizes the safety and wellbeing of our passengers.”
Allegedly Drunk Woman Denied Boarding, Cuffed After Airport ‘Meltdown’ in Viral Videos
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A woman, dubbed the “Mimosa Karen” by many on the internet, went viral after footage of her public meltdown was uploaded to TikTok. In total, the series of videos have amassed more than 2.8 million views since they were posted on November 10.
In the series of videos, posted by @cinco_suave, a woman began yelling at airline staff at a Southwest Airlines gate. As the woman got closer, the employee put her hand up to prevent the woman from getting any closer.
“Karen had a few to many mimosas,” read the caption of the video.
In the video, the woman held up her cellphone at the woman working the terminal desk as other staff approached her. She continued to film the woman at the desk and told her to “say it again,” although it is unclear what the employee said.
Eventually, the woman attempted to walk toward the boarding door before an airport employee blocked the entrance.
“Say it again,” the woman yelled again at the employee as she pointed her phone at her.
Another airport employee then asked the woman to take her concerns to customer service since she was disrupting the entire gate. Eventually, someone from airport security approached the woman as she yelled “don’t touch me,” at the man.
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In another video, the woman could be heard yelling at one of the employees asking for their employee number. She continued to yell as the employees ignored her question and walked by her.
“Is everyone seeing that I’m asking for their employee number and no one is giving it to me?” the woman asked as she continued filming on her cellphone.
The woman then began pointing at the airport employees and continued asking for their employee numbers. In the third and final video, the woman stood surrounded by police officers.
“So how many times do I have to say f**k you to all of you?” the woman asked one of the police officers. “I’ve done nothing wrong…I’ll just sit here until the next flight.”
The woman sat down and then asked one of the cops “why in the hell” she would need to provide them with her ID when she’s done “nothing wrong.” She continued to explain to the cop that the female employee told her to “f**k off.”
“I’m supposed to be boarding the airplane, my mom has cancer, okay?” she said to the cop as she pointed at him.
“It’s illegal that you’re not letting me board this plane,” she said to another officer. She then turned toward the other people at the gate and said she doesn’t care that she was making a scene.
She continued to explain her situation to the officer who calmly said he wanted to help her. In response, she raised her voice and eventually called one of the airline employees a “f**king c**t” which caused a reaction from witnesses nearby. Before the woman could finish her sentence, the officers cuffed the woman and escorted her away.
As she was led out by officers, people witnessing the altercation began clapping and laughing.
“Bye Holly!” one person shouted.
“Her name is Karen actually,” someone replied.
At the end of the video, the woman could be heard yelling at the cops asking why she was in handcuffs.
Since COVID-19 restrictions started to be lifted over the past few months, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has reported a startling increase in unruly passengers.
A viral video showed the moment an unruly passenger began yelling at airline staff at the airport gate. She eventually was handcuffed and escorted awa…Read More | Robert Alexander/Getty Images/Robert Alexander/Getty Images
As of November 23, the FAA reported more than 5,338 unruly passenger incidents, with approximately 3,800 relating to mask-related incidents compared to about 183 reports in 2020.
So far this year, the FAA has launched about 1,012 investigations and 226 enforcement cases.
In the comments, many joked that the woman reached no-fly status after causing such a loud altercation at the airport.
“Someone won’t be flying Southwest anymore,” one user commented. “Too bad cause your first 2 checked bags fly free.”
“She’s the reason why half of the American workforce has called it quits,” another user mentioned.
“Denied boarding and going away in cuffs…perfect ending,” another comment read.
Others mentioned that it is a federal violation to not properly wear a mask at the airport and that she was also acting unruly toward the airline employees, which is another federal violation.
