A man who was taunted and then choked by a stranger sitting behind him on a Frontier Airlines flight is speaking out about the terrible ordeal, an experience he said “changed everything in my life overnight.”
The fight was caught on video from multiple angles by fellow passengers, and several edited clips made headline news. But victim Keanu Evans said the initial reporting has been misleading, and despite the police stating the attack was “unprovoked,” he is still facing an onslaught of “racist comments and hate speech.”
Among the critics are some who called out Evans for defending himself. “People are saying if I’m a man of God, why didn’t I use my words?” he revealed in a July 3 video posted on his TikTok account to set the record straight. “What would you do if you were in a confined space in an aircraft and another stranger you don’t know stands up and starts to choke you? I defended myself. I did what any rational person would do.”
He continued, “The only thing that upsets me is that these news outlets are reporting false narratives, and everybody is starting to run with it and believe it.”
Events unfolded on July 1 as the flight was coming into Miami International Airport.
Evans was relaxing in his seat with his headphones on when he heard “villainous laughter” that was loud enough to cut through his music. After his seatmates shot him several concerned looks, he turned to ask the man, “Are you good?” That’s when alleged attacker Ishaan Sharma, a 21-year-old from New Jersey, lit into him, calling him “puny” and “weak,” and making death threats, stated Evans.
Shocked, Evans went to the restroom and informed the flight attendants, who told him they were aware of the situation and instructed him to press the call button if things escalated. As soon as Evans returned to his seat, Sharma started back up with the “disturbed” comments and threats, Evans claimed. After pressing the call button, he turned to ask Sharma, “Yo, what’s your problem?”
“He immediately put his forehead on my forehead, face to face, and he grabs me with both of his hands and he starts to choke me,” he recounted.
Sharma was arrested and charged with battery. He is facing a $500 bond, according to jail records, and suffered a black eye and multiple cuts to his face. As the saying goes, you reap what you sow, but Evans expressed that he is “genuinely concerned” for Sharma’s mental state. “I pray that that man gets the help that he needs because that is not OK.”
Evan’s retelling of the incident has garnered more than 6,000 comments, with the vast majority of them supporting his decision to defend himself.
“The aggressor was arrested. Why is there any other narrative at all?” asked one person. “I guess people are judging you because you kicked the other guys a**,” wrote another.
“Good that’s what he gets for instigating,” wrote a supporter on the official Instagram account of the New York Post. But some question how things could have spun out of control so quickly in the first place. “Remember just after 9/11 when you were afraid to even fart in a plane for fear of an air marshal snapping your spine?”
Today, only 6 percent of U.S. flights have air marshals on board, per The New York Times. Meanwhile, there has been a spike in threatening or violent behavior during passenger flights since 2021, according to data from the FAA. Unruly passengers can now face fines up to $37,000 and be prosecuted on criminal charges.
Great Job Grace Jidoun & the Team @ Atlanta Black Star Source link for sharing this story.
