Arizona woman sentenced to prison, banned from flying for assaulting TSA agents

An Arizona woman was sentenced to four months in prison last week for physically assaulting three TSA agents at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport last year.

Ma'Kiah Cherae Coleman, 20, from Glendale, Arizona, pleaded guilty earlier this year to the April 25, 2023 assault on a federal officer resulting in bodily injury, according to a TSA press release. This conviction faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, up to $250,000 in fines and three years of supervised release.

When attempting to pass through a security checkpoint in Terminal D, Coleman reportedly grabbed an officer by the hair, "forcing the officer's head down against a table" before punching the officer in the head multiple times, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Arizona. She also reportedly elbowed another officer and "bit the hair" of a third who tried to restrain her.

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Coleman was allegedly upset that her apple juice was being confiscated, Arizona's Family reported.

The incident caused a temporary closure of the airport security checkpoint.

Following her sentence, Coleman will have three years of supervised release and is banned from flying on commercial aircrafts during that time.