American Airlines Passenger Duct-Taped In First Class: Preacher Seatmate Says He Was Attacked After Talking About Jesus

Best-selling religious author Jonathan Cahn says he was the passenger attacked by the man who wound up duct-taped to an American Airlines first class seat. He says a friendly conversation about his books and Jesus turned into threats, blows, and a struggle over his laptop. He says the man threatened to punch his “Jewish face in.” Cahn calls the encounter ‘spiritual warfare’ tied to the release of his new book. A passenger was strapped to his seat after making racist and anti-LGBT remarks. He allegedly screamed about Jesus & going to hell, called a Black flight attendant the N-word, used the F-slur, then became violent, hitting another passenger and striking their computer. (Via TMZ) pic.twitter.com/HD1zrtx07V — FearBuck (@FearedBuck) September 4, 2026 I wrote about American Airlines flight 618 on Friday. The September 3 flight from Dallas – Fort Worth to Newark diverted to Baltimore after passengers restrained the man seatmate with zip ties and duct tape. The tape went around his torso, arms and head. He surely doesn’t have eyebrows now. Police say he attacked an officer after they removed the restraints. The passenger has been identified as Layne Lundeen, 67, of Tucson. Now the man who says he was sitting beside him has come forward, and Lundeen’s real-estate firm has dropped him. Cahn is a Messianic Jewish minister (e.g. Jews for Jesus) and the author of The Harbinger. A publicist sent me his account of the flight, which he was taking home after promoting The Altar of Pergamon: The Mystery of the Dark Angel and the Future of the World. He couldn’t have wished for 15 minutes to elevate his book tour. Divine intervention with duct tape! In his video account, Cahn says a last-minute seat change put him next to the man. He was signing book labels when his seatmate struck up a conversation. Cahn describes hours of friendly conversation before the man began cursing him and Jesus. He says he tried to disengage and work, but the man struck his already-damaged laptop, worsening the screen. He says the man put his hands around his neck as if it were a joke. Cahn says he then showed the man his book cover to distract him, and the man became more agitated. At about 33:57 in the video, Cahn recounts: “I will punch your effing Jewish face in.” He describes hitting that followed and says he signaled to flight attendants for help. When he tried to leave with his laptop, he says the man lunged for it. Cahn says the struggle aggravated an existing injury to his left arm. He credits the men who intervened. Early accounts described a man shouting about Jesus and hell. Cahn says the man was cursing Jesus, and objects to the impression that this was a Christian passenger berating everyone else. Cahn connects the episode to his new book, a dark patch that had appeared on his laptop screen before the trip, and delays getting copies of the book shipped. He believes evil was trying to interfere with his work. Retired law enforcement officer Juan Mejia and fellow passenger Richard Olenick were sitting two rows ahead. Mejia says he saw the man with his hands on his neighbor’s neck, and that Lundeen bit him as they tried to restrain him. Mejia says the first restraints didn’t hold. The man kept fighting and pulling his hand out of the zip ties. Flight attendants supplied duct tape. They secured his body, then his head because he was trying to headbutt and bite. Olenick helped hold him down until police could take over. Lundeen was released on his own recognizance September 4. His state trial is scheduled for October 19. Meanwhile, Long Realty says it ended its affiliation with him after learning of the incident. Topics on this page