An American Airlines flight carrying four congressmen heading back to Washington, D.C., to vote to end the U.S. government shutdown was diverted over another passenger who claimed, “We live in a fascist state.”
Rep. Greg Stanton (D-Ariz.) initially shared a post detailing the incident on his X account Tuesday (November 11), acknowledging that he was on the flight with three Republicans from his home state — Reps. Eli Crane, Andy Biggs and Paul Gosar — when the plane made an “emergency stop in Kanas City to remove [a] disruptive passenger.” X Adam Burtner was also on the flight and shared a video of the person saying “We live in a fascist state” as they were being escorted off the plane.
The flight tracking website FlightAware reports that the flight was diverted to Kansas City International Airport after being airborne for about two hours and 41 minutes, landing at around 6:15 p.m. local time. The plane took off from Kansas City after a delay of about an hour and landed in Washington, D.C., at 9:01 p.m. local time.
Stanton shared a separate post thanking Kansas City Police officers “for handling the situation professionally and without incident. The specific incident that caused the emergency landing wasn’t publicly revealed, however, American Airlines confirmed that it was due to “a disruptive customer” in a statement to KSHB 41.
“On Nov. 11, American Airlines flight 1218, with service from Phoenix (PHX) to Washington, DC (DCA), diverted to Kansas City (MCI) due to a disruptive customer,” the airline said. “Law enforcement met the flight and removed the customer, and the flight later re-departed for DCA, where it landed normally. We thank our customers for their patience and our crew members for their professionalism.”
The spending bill, which funds the government through January 30, 2026, while providing money for SNAP benefits, veteran programs and congressional operations through September 30, 2026, passed the House by a 222-209 vote Wednesday night after being approved by the Senate Monday (November 10) night. Democratic Sens. Jeanne Shaheen, Maggie Hassan, Tim Kaine, Jacky Rosen, Catherine Cortez Masto, John Fetterman, Angus King and Minority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) all voted alongside 52 Republicans on Monday.
The government shutdown concluded after 43 days, making it the longest in American history.
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