(Image Source: NBC)

BY KERRY LEARY

ANCHOR EMILY SPAIN

You're watching multisource US video news analysis from Newsy.

Fear was looming for most that were flying on September 11th this year. But, for one passenger, her fear quickly turned into anger.

35-year-old Shoshana-Hebshi-Holt was detained from a Frontier Airlines flight as it landed in Detroit because of “suspicious behavior” on the plane, along with two men in her row.

She later blogged about the incident, believing that she was targeted because of her appearance--she’s half Arab, half Jewish. She said:

“I believe in national security, but I also believe in peace and justice. I believe in tolerance, acceptance and trying–as hard as it sometimes may be–not to judge a person by the color of their skin or the way they dress.”

Denver’s KUSA has the authorities’ side of the story.

“Authorities say fighter jets escorted the plane to Detroit after the crew reported that two people were spending a long time in the bathroom. The two men were sitting next to Hebshi. The FBI has said the three didn't know each other and that they never were in the bathroom together.”

So -- did officials go too far? Or were they just taking precautionary measures? The Detroit Free Press asked a traveler if the proper protocol was taken.

“I think proper procedures were followed because if I had been on the plane and all the commotion was going on, then I would like to feel a bit more secure- that security, that security had been notified.”

But RT’s Alyona Minkovski was pretty honest about her opinion of the arrests in a broadcast - siding with Hebshi-Holt.

“I think it’s pretty safe to label this as another instance of racial profiling. Apparently being a half-Arab, half-Jewish housewife on a plane is now a crime.”

Finally - a writer from the Atlantic says this story is bigger than racial profiling.

“The broader point really is the cliche: this is what it looks like when ‘the terrorists win’ and we lose the long-term struggle to protect a free society.”

After being strip-searched and questioned by the FBI, the three that were detained were released with no charges against them.


Transcript by Newsy.