'Doomsday prophet' shares why he was the target of duct-taped plane passenger 'racist' meltdown
The man sitting next to Arthur Layne Lundeen when he had a mid-flight meltdown and had to be duct-taped to his seat, has explained exactly what set off his alleged rampage.
Lundeen, an Arizona based realtor, was restrained mid-air after allegedly hurling racist and homophobic slurs and attacking other travelers on an American Airlines flight bound for Newark on September 3, forcing the plane to perform an emergency landing in Baltimore.
And it's cost him his job. His employer, Long Realty confirmed he's no longer affiliated with the company, and his bio has since been pulled from their website.
Now, best-selling author, Jonathan Cahn revealed he was the previously unidentified man in the seat beside Lunden, and says the whole thing was 'triggered' by his latest novel, The Altar of Pergamon.
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"I was the unidentified passenger and I was actually attacked, 30,000 feet in the sky. I was attacked on that plane," Cahn said in a YouTube video posted Monday.
What triggered the plane passenger's outburst?
According to Cahn, the two men had been chatting amiably before their conversation turned to religion.
He says he brought up 'the reality of the real power of god on Earth and in our lives,' which set Lundeen off, allegedly cursing and 'blaspheming Jesus and God before shouting, "It's all bulls**t. Jesus is Bulls**t."
Cahn described a startling personality shift in his seatmate.
"I have never seen someone change in a split second from light to dark as I saw then, as if something had taken him over," he said.
"He went from the friendliest guy in the world to this dark person." As Lundeen's tirade escalated, Cahn claims the situation turned physical, with Lundeen striking and attempting to grab his laptop as the crew scrambled to make an emergency landing.
"The plane is in shock, the pilot is radioing the ground, for an emergency landing. We're fighting over my computer," Cahn said, adding the laptop screen was damaged in the struggle.
Other passengers eventually stepped in, securing Lundeen with duct tape and zip ties.
One of them reportedly told Cahn, "You were being tested. God was testing you."
Cahn is a Messianic rabbi who leads the Beth Israel Worship Centre in Wayne, New Jersey, and has built a following through books that blend theology and prophecy.
His 2011 debut, The Harbinger, drew parallels between the 9/11 attacks and the destruction of the Kingdom of Israel, while his 2015 follow up, The Mystery of the Shemitah, predicted an imminent global catastrophe.
Cahn hasn't specified exactly what about the cover set Lundeen off, only that it followed their religious discussion.
Lundeen now faces state charges of second-degree assault and disorderly conduct.
The FBI is continuing to interview witnesses and will consult the US Attorney's Office for the District of Maryland over potential federal charges.
Topics: American Airlines, Crime
Thomas Bamford