Chris Christie's niece charged in drunken brawl at New Orleans airport
Shannon Christie Epstein accused of threatening to have Jefferson Parish deputies 'fired' through her connections
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A year after former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's niece Shannon Christie Epstein 26, allegedly accused fellow airplane passengers of running drugs and drunkenly kicked a deputy in the groin, prosecutors in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, filed charges, according to local reports.
Before deputies arrived, Epstein turned to a family that "she believed was Latino" and asked if they were smuggling cocaine, Capt. Jason Rivarde of the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office, told Fox News Digital last year.
It happened over Thanksgiving last year on a Spirit Airlines plane bound for New Jersey on the tarmac at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport. Prosecutors filed charges on Monday, including two misdemeanor counts of disturbing the peace and felony resisting police with violence.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}CHRIS CHRISTIE'S NIECE REPORTEDLY KICKED OFF PLANE, INJURED SIX DEPUTIES IN THANKSGIVING DISTURBANCE
Chris Christie, former governor of New Jersey, during a Bloomberg Television interview in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, July 19, 2023. Christie's niece, Shannon Christie Epstein, allegedly name-dropped the former governor and former President Trump during a drunken brawl with Louisiana deputies at the Louis Armstrong Airport last year. (Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
"She did willfully and unlawfully disturb the peace by appearing in an intoxicated condition in such a manner as would foreseeably disturb and alarm the public," prosecutors alleged in court filings.
The Spirit crew turned the plane around and headed back to the gate, but Epstein allegedly refused to leave.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"When deputies initially made contact with her on the jet bridge, she became extremely combative," he said. "During her arrest, she injured 6 deputies, biting one and kicking another in the groin."
A Spirit Airlines Airbus A319 with the registration N503NK landing at Los Angeles International Airport on Feb. 19, 2016. (iStock)
Deputies ultimately strapped her to a wheelchair and rolled her away from the gate, despite alleged threats that she could have them fired.
"She repeatedly stated that they would lose their jobs or be arrested because of her familial relationships," Rivarde said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}MAN CAPTURED AFTER NEW ORLEANS TARMAC HATCH ESCAPE, DRAMATIC RUNWAY STRUGGLE CAUGHT ON VIDEO
Christie is seeking the Republican presidential nomination for 2024 and is one of four candidates expected to take the debate stage Wednesday evening.
Although Epstein is Christie's niece, she allegedly claimed to be his daughter when telling deputies, "You will lose your job over this s---."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"I know Donald Trump," she added, according to nola.com, the local newspaper.
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The deputies, after she allegedly bit, kicked, spit on and screamed at them, were not impressed.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Court records show Epstein had waived her right to appear at several hearings over the past year before charges were officially filed Monday.
The district attorney's office said it does not comment on pending cases. Epstein faces up to three years in prison if convicted on the resisting arrest charge.
Fox News' Ronn Blitzer contributed to this report.