American Airlines bans conservative activist from flights after he refuses to wear mask

American Airlines banned a conservative activist this week after he refused to wear a face mask on a flight.

Brandon Straka was kicked off a Wednesday flight from New York to Dallas-Fort Worth after he ignored instructions to put on a mask as part of a new policy for passengers, the airline told McClatchy News. Now Straka won’t be allowed on American flights until the mask requirement, which is intended to prevent spread of the coronavirus, is no longer in effect.

“American Airlines thoroughly reviewed an incident on June 17 involving one of our customers, Brandon Straka,” the company said in a statement. “As a result of this review, Mr. Straka will not be permitted to fly American, as he failed to comply with our stated policy and crew member instructions.”

Banning passengers “is a step we take very seriously, and it will only occur after a comprehensive review of the facts of an incident,” American Airlines said.

American Airlines and other major U.S. airlines implemented a new policy this week to deny future travel if passengers refuse to wear masks.

“We are committed to protecting the safety and well-being of our customers and team members, which is why we strengthened enforcement of our policy for required face coverings on board,” American Airlines said. “We expect customers who choose to fly with us to comply with these policies, and if necessary, we will deny future travel for customers who refuse to do so.”

On Twitter, Straka addressed the incident to his nearly 400,000 followers, saying he’s received death threats and no one asked his reason for not wearing a mask.

On the day he was kicked off the flight, Straka tweeted this about his condition preventing him from wearing a mask.

Straka recorded an exchange with a flight attendant on the plane and posted another video of himself in the gate area in which he said there’s no law requiring a mask, the Associated Press reported.