After getting forced off an airplane for asking passengers who appeared to her to be Latino whether they were drug mules, a niece of former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie bit, kicked and spit on Jefferson Parish sheriff's deputies trying to detain her on Thanksgiving Day at Louis Armstrong International Airport, authorities said.Shannon Epstein, 25, boarded the Spirit Airlines flight to New Jersey on Nov. 24 at about 6 a.m., and asked a family who were near her and whom she perceived to be Latino if they were "smuggling cocaine," said Capt. Jason Rivarde, a Sheriff's Office spokesperson. Airline workers requested Epstein be removed from the plane as she became increasingly irate, and the plane, which had started to taxi to the runway, returned to the gate, Rivarde said Friday.
When deputies arrived, Epstein refused to exit the jet bridge into the terminal, Rivarde said. When they tried to arrest her, she became "extremely combative," Rivarde said.
Six deputies hurt
In the scuffle, she injured six deputies, biting one on the arm and breaking the skin, and kicking another in the groin, Rivarde said. They were treated there by paramedics.
All the while, Epstein shouted that the deputies were going to lose their jobs or end up in jail, boasting that she was related to powerful people and that her uncle is a friend of former President Donald Trump, Rivarde said. Chris Christie did not return messages left Friday at two telephone numbers associated with him.
Seven deputies were needed to handcuff Epstein to a wheelchair, so that she could be moved to the airport security office, Rivarde said. She continued to shout vulgarities and try to bite deputies, he added.
They booked Epstein with six counts of battery on a police officer, three of disturbing the peace, one of resisting arrest by force and one of remaining after forbidden, Rivarde said. She paid $10,750 bail and was released from the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center later on Thanksgiving Day.
In the scuffle, she injured six deputies, biting one of the arm and breaking the skin, and kicking another in the groin, Rivarde said. They were treated there by paramedics.
All the while, Epstein shouted that the deputies were going to lose their jobs or end up in jail, boasting that she was related to powerful people and that her uncle is a friend of former President Donald Trump, Rivarde said. Chris Christie did not return messages left Friday at two telephone numbers associated with him.
Seven deputies were needed to handcuff Epstein to a wheelchair, so that she could be moved to the airport security office, Rivarde said. She continued to shout vulgarities and try to bite deputies, he added.
The Christie family is no stranger to criminal scandals. Epstein’s uncle, who ran against Trump in the the 2016 Republican presidential primary before buddying up to him for several years, infamously shut down a New Jersey bridge at rush hour to punish a mayor who refused to endorse his re-election bid.
Epstein was booked with six counts of battery on a police officer, made her $10,750 bail, and was released from the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center on Thanksgiving Day. The case will likely move to federal court.
She even threatened the officers trying to get her off the plane, saying her uncle is friends with former President Donald Trump and she knows some powerful people, Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Capt. Jason Rivarde told NOLA.com.
Epstein ultimately had to be handcuffed to a wheelchair by seven different sheriff's deputies to be forced off the plane, he said.
She is now charged with six counts of battery on a police officer, three counts of disturbing the peace, one of resisting arrest by force and one of remaining after being forbidden.
The foul-mouth niece was released from the Jefferson Parish Correction Center on Thanksgiving Day after posting $10,750 bail. She is due back in court on January 23.
DailyMail.com has reached out to Epstein for comment. According to Rivarde, the whole situation began when Epstein became angry and started being disruptive on board the Thanksgiving Day flight and asked a family who appeared to be Latino whether they were 'smuggling cocaine.'
Airline employees soon decided to remove her from the plane, which had already left the gate at Louis Armstrong International Airport, but she allegedly refused to leave after the plane returned to the tarmac.
Epstein is said to have then become 'extremely combative' when she was approached by Jefferson Parish sheriff's deputies and injured six while resisting arrest, including biting one on the arm and breaking their skin.
She allegedly kicked others in the groin and spit on others, NOLA.com reports, all while shouting at them that they would lose their jobs or end up in jail because her uncle is friends with former President Donald Trump and she knows some important people.
The deputies were treated for their injuries on the scene, while seven others worked to handcuff Epstein to a wheelchair to force her off.
As she was wheeled away, Rivarde said, she continued to shout vulgarities and tried to bite more deputies.
The former New Jersey governor has yet to comment on the altercation.
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