TAMPA, Fla. — What does Rosa Parks have to do with beverage cart service on a plane?
I'm not really sure — but a woman was arrested on a flight from Tampa after her comment about the civil rights leader caused a fight with another passenger, according to a criminal complaint.
It all started on a flight from Tampa to Atlanta on Dec. 23. when Patricia Cornwall was returning from the restroom while flight attendants were serving drinks, the complaint says.
She reportedly asked a flight attendant if they could help her find her seat when they told her she could take any open seat until beverage service was over.
According to the court records, Corwall responded, "What am I Rosa Parks?"
That's when another passenger, who is referred to as R.S.M., got involved.
R.S.M. told authorities he thought Corwall's comment was inappropriate, prompting him to tell her she "isn’t black….this isn’t Alabama and this isn’t a bus”.
The argument continued to escalate, with the two reportedly exchanging derogatory comments back and forth.
Another passenger caught the whole thing on camera.
Warning: The video below contains language some may find offensive.
"Sit down, Karen," R.S.M. can be heard telling Cornwall.
The video shows the two exchanging comments about masks and seats while flight attendants attempted to gain control of the situation.
The verbal back-and-forth continued until Cornwall struck R.S.M. with a closed fist, "causing visible injury," the complaint says.
She then spit in R.S.M.'s face before being taken away by security and restrained for the remainder of the flight, according to the court document.
Once the plane arrived at Hartsfield‐Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the complaint says Cornwall was detained and charged with assault while aboard an aircraft. Atlanta police confirmed that Cornwall was taken into custody by FBI agents.
Court documents show that she appeared in federal court Monday and was released on $20,000 bond.
“Flight 2790 from Tampa to Atlanta was met by law enforcement after an unruly customer disturbance during flight. Situations like these are rare for the vast majority of our customers and Delta has zero tolerance for unruly behavior at our airports and aboard our aircraft," Delta Air Lines said in a statement obtained by NBC News.