Two US air marshals were detained in Brazil on Oct. 1 after trying to control an unruly passenger on a flight from Houston to Brazil.
The incident occured aboard Continental Flight 128 when the plane’s crew asked the US marshals to intervene with an apparently intoxicated female passenger. The passenger struggled with the marshals, but was subsequently arrested.
Upon arriving at the Rio airport, the marshals took the female passenger, who is incidentally the wife of a prominent Brazilian judge, to Brazilian authorities for further legal action. The Brazilian authorities instead charged the marshals with assault and took their passports to keep them in Brazil.
The US marshals, however, managed to leave the country and avoid further legal action with
alternate travel documents.