What Should The Punishment Be For Brawling On A Cross-Country Flight And Making It Stop In Des Moines, Iowa at 3:00 AM?

A Spirit airlines flight from Los Angeles to Detroit was diverted to Iowa last Thursday after a bloody fight broke out on board.

The physical altercation broke out after one passenger became upset that others were being loud while he was trying to sleep.

Let me be the first to say that the ONLY reason that these two prize fighters should not have been euthanized on the spot is because they saved everyone a trip to Detroit. Like, you're welcome folks. I know we just made your plane land in the middle of a 2,500 mile trip, but at least you're not walking out of the terminal into the butthole on the United States? Think of the glass half full for once.

However, having your plane diverted to Des Moines, Iowa is not the best consolation prize, either. Being forced against your will to be in the middle of Iowa seems like the dictionary definition of "Cruel and Unusual Punishment". I don't think the two people that fought on the plane should be the only ones on the hook here. How about the pilot that could've taken an extra couple minutes to divert to Chicago or St. Louis or somewhere with an actual pulse? Instead, you chose to ground everyone in the middle of a cornfield. You might not be the main perpetrator here, but you're certainly an accomplice.

Alright, enough small talk. Let's answer the question that was originally posed. Two dudes fight on a cross-country trip. They make you land in Iowa. What's their punishment? Jail? Huge fine? Make them live in Iowa for the rest of their life? NOPE. The penalty is literally nothing.

'We did not arrest anyone. Pretty unique situation. It was determined that the incident took place over Nebraska, so DMPD has no jurisdiction. At the crew's request, we escorted one passenger off the plane, and it continued on to Detroit,' Parizek said. 'He was free to go.'

How in the world in this possible? That CANNOT be the law on this. You're telling me that if you murder someone on a flight from LA to Iowa, but that murder occurred over Nebraska, then you walk free when you land in Iowa. 

"This will be up to the Lincoln Police Department to determine if they want to proceed with an investigation"

Get outta here. Either the plane needs to land or it doesn't. If it didn't need to land, charge the pilot with failure to control. If it did, charge the fighters with disturbing the peace or SOMETHING. And if you make a plane land in the middle of Iowa, in the midst of a 2,500 mile flight, well that should be considered terrorism. I love how the police officer said "pretty unique situation". Uhhhh, ya think?

So I guess the answer to the question in my headline of "What should the punishment be for brawling on an airline from Los Angeles and making it stop in Des Moines, Iowa be?" is nothing. The answer is nothing. One dude got to walk away scot-free. And the other dude got to continue to Detroit!!!!

This is just an absolutely wild story.

The plane landed and stopped in Iowa for two hours from 3.13am. 

'They didn't clean the blood,' she said. 'Sat there for two hours, everyone sucking everyone's coronavirus.'

My intitial response would be "that's what you get for flying during a pandemic". But no. No one deserves this. 3:00 in the morning? Iowa? Blood stains? AND THE DUDE GOT TO STAY ON BOARD????

That's the SPIRIT!