Man duct-taped on flight tells court he can't remember incident

Layne Lundeen, a 67-year-old Arizona realtor, told a Maryland court he has no memory of the midair incident that led to his arrest on an American Airlines flight. Lundeen was restrained with duct tape and zip ties on a flight from Dallas to Newark, which was diverted to Baltimore on September 3 after an alleged outburst. He faces state charges of second-degree assault and disorderly conduct, with a trial date set for October 19. During his initial court appearance, Lundeen told District Court Commissioner George Haag, "I don't remember any of what happened." When the charges were read, he asked, "I assaulted a police officer? Is that what it says?" and added, "Oh my God. What a mess. I don't remember any of it." Lundeen stated he had consumed two screwdriver cocktails before the incident. The outburst allegedly began during a conversation with his seatmate, Jonathan Cahn, a Messianic rabbi and author. Cahn stated the two had been talking for about two hours when the topic turned to religion, at which point Lundeen became aggressive. Cahn alleged Lundeen grabbed him by the throat, hit him, and broke his laptop. He also claimed Lundeen made antisemitic and homophobic remarks.