A former leader of an ayahuasca church in Florida is facing criminal charges over accusations he randomly sucker punched a sleeping passenger during a flight from California to Washington, D.C., beating the fellow traveler — for no apparent reason — until the cabin was speckled with blood, according to a federal complaint filed Tuesday.
About two hours into the five-hour journey on Monday aboard United Airlines flight 2247 from San Francisco to Dulles, Everett Chad Nelson, 44, left his seat in the rear of the aircraft and headed to one of the lavatories up front, the complaint states.
There were 82 passengers and six crew aboard the flight, a United spokesperson told The Independent .
When Nelson exited the bathroom, he stopped at seat 12F and “without notice, began physically attacking a sleeping male passenger by punching him repeatedly in the face and head until blood was drawn,” the complaint alleges, adding that the assault continued for a full minute. The man began screaming, after which a Good Samaritan intervened and managed to pull Nelson off of him, according to the complaint.