PORTLAND, Ore. – A teenager on a flight from Portland to Houston who caused a ruckus by swinging his fist at an attendant and praising Usama bin Laden as the flight turned around was indicted Wednesday on charges of interfering with the jetliner's crew.
He was identified as 19-year-old Yazeed Mohammed A. Abunayyan.
Ashland police said they believe he is the Saudi Arabian teenager who led police on a slow-speed chase on Sunday, ramming two police cars and nearly hitting a pedestrian. He was accused of drunken driving and assaulting an officer. He was released on bail Monday.
On Tuesday night, the Continental flight he was on returned to Portland, where he was arrested.
The indictment said he interfered with a flight attendant and a flight crew member, "specifically by refusing to stop smoking or relinquish an electronic cigarette at the request of the member or attendant, yelling profanities and swinging his fist at the flight attendant."
Abunayyan also hit or attempted to hit several passengers and spoke or sung about Usama bin Laden and his hatred of women, the indictment said.
Asked whether the FBI considers him a terrorism threat, spokeswoman Beth Anne Steele said the indictment was on interfering charges, not terrorism.
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