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Zachary W. Easterly, 37, of Etters, was forcible removed from a flight from Philadelphia and then assaulted an air marshal while drunk, according to a criminal complaint filed by Federal Air Marshall Ryan McAndrew.
Easterly, a now-former chemical engineer with the pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline was heading to Dallas from Philadelphia International Airport when he got out of his seat and appeared to start an argument for an unknown reason with seemingly anyone in his path.
In his fit of rage, he used homophobic and racist words but then claimed that he is not a racist he's just “a white male that picked a black bag. A better bag than most of y’all can afford. He then is seen calling everyone a “liberal (expletive)” and says “I hope they crash the (expletive) plane," while being escort off, as seen in the video.
While exiting the plane he is told by an American Airlines employee told him to "watch his mouth," so he retorted "I'll slit the your throat" and “pull out my pistol and kill your (expletive) family,”
McAndrew found Easterly on the B Concourse of the Philadelphia International Airport screaming profanities at American Airlines employees, and when he caught sight of his badge hanging on a lanyard around his neck, he grabbed the marshal by the throat and ripped it off, according to court documents.
He was injured by Easterly, suffering bruises and scratches to his forehead, throat, and elbow, as detailed in the criminal complaint.
GlaxoSmithKline, the British pharmaceutical giant with offices in Philadelphia and Montgomery County, say Easterly was fired as of Sept. 2. They added that his "behavior was reprehensible and does not reflect our company culture."
Easterly faces charges of assaulting a federal officer, punishable by up to a year in prison.
He has a criminal has length criminal history of intoxicated incidents, including driving under the influence in York County leading to convictions in 2006 and 2018. He also pleaded guilty to public drunkenness in 2009, court records show.
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