FORT WORTH, Texas — A couple is suing Fort Worth-based American Airlines, alleging race discrimination after they say the airline accused a Black man of trafficking his white, Russian-national wife, according to court documents.
According to the lawsuit, filed in the southern district of Florida, the plaintiffs were traveling Sept. 13, 2022, from Phoenix to Miami to go on their honeymoon when the alleged racist incident occurred. The lawsuit alleges that Anthony Williams, a Black retired police officer, was falsely accused by a fellow passenger of trafficking his white wife, Katsiaryna Shasholka.
The lawsuit alleges that American Airlines employees did not question the couple or before reporting the trafficking allegations to law enforcement. After landing, the couple was “falsely imprisoned by American Airlines employees whom escorted them off of the plane,” and questioned by the Miami-Dade Police Department, the lawsuit reads…