In the year of our Lord 2025, seeing a Black man traveling with his white wife shouldn’t even make you bat an eye. But believe it or not, some people still aren’t ok with interracial relationships. For that reason, what was supposed to be a romantic honeymoon getaway for an Arizona couple went all the way wrong. Now, a Black man is taking legal action against American Airlines, alleging he was racially profiled on his flight.
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Anthony Williams, a former police officer who is Black, and Katsiaryna Shasholka, who is white, were celebrating their recent nuptials on a 2022 flight from Phoenix to Miami when a fellow passenger, who believed Williams was trafficking Shasholka, alerted the flight crew.
According to Business Insider, the couple’s lawsuit says American Airlines employees “falsely reported to law enforcement that Plaintiff Anthony was human trafficking his own wife” without asking the couple any questions. When the flight landed in Miami, the couple was escorted from the plane, where they were questioned by local police. The couple, who says they were left feeling “confused and embarrassed” by the situation, is now seeking $75,000 in damages.
Civil rights attorney Ben Taylor, who isn’t associated with the case, says he understands why Williams and Shasholka were uncomfortable.
“It’s very stressful when you’re trying to go to your honeymoon and enjoy a good time and the next thing you know you’re being pulled over by police and flight attendants for something – you didn’t do anything wrong,” he told Arizona’s Family.
According to Law & Crime, the couple’s case is being handled by civil rights lawyer Jasmine Rand, who also represented the families of Trayvon Martin, George Floyd, and Michael Brown.
Rand obtained the following statement from Mr. Williams:
“I am a former law enforcement officer. I worked hard to fight crime, and to be accused of committing a heinous crime is unfathomable. I was accused of human trafficking my wife because of my race. I fought hard to uphold the law in this country and I will fight hard now to uphold the laws that prohibit racial discrimination.”
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