A commercial airline pilot has been charged after allegedly writing racial slurs and pro-Trump slogans in an airport bathroom.
Endeavor Air pilot, James Ellis Dees was charged with nine counts of criminal mischief after he allegedly wrote racial slurs about African Americans and Hispanics alongside “Send them ALL Back” in the bathrooms and parking lot elevators of a Florida Airport, according to NBC News.
Dees also wrote pro-Trump slogans like “#MAGA”, an abbreviation of US President Donald Trump’s campaign slogan, Make America Great Again, and “TRUMP4EVER” around the airport.
The graffiti was written between 23 December 2019 and 14 December 2019, according to the affidavit, leading police to launch an investigation.
Officers placed a hidden camera in an elevator which frequently copped the graffiti which led officers speak with Dees who admitted to writing the racist and pro-Trump messages.
The officer who spoke with Dees, officer Keith Campbell, said he stated that he was going through a “really rough time” and suffered from “anger issues”.
“After Dees confirmed that he had written the above graffiti, he was allowed to leave. He began to get on his flight but then decided that he was not in the ‘right state of mind’ to fly a plane,” Campbell said, according to NBC News.
“Dees stated that he is a ‘responsible person’ and wanted to do whatever it took to put the incident behind him. Dees then left the airport to return home.”
Dee is due in court on 20 February and is currently free on a $500 bail.
Endeavour Air, a subsidiary of Delta Air Lines, told NBC News that the pilot’s actions do not reflect the values of the airline and confirmed that he is no longer employed by Endeavour.
Travel Weekly has contacted Delta Airlines for comment.
