By MICHAEL R. SISAK, RIO YAMAT and ANDREW DALTON Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) — Actor Selma Blair was arrested after she was accused of injuring two flight attendants on a trip from Los Angeles to New York. She was also accused of kicking a police officer taking her to the hospital and kicking a nurse once she got there.
She pleaded not guilty Monday night to two counts of assault for state charges involving the officer and the nurse. And she faces separate federal charges based on what happened on the flight, which her representatives say was brought on by a severe medical emergency.
Blair, 54, was detained by police at around 11 p.m. Sunday after the Delta Air Lines jet parked at the gate at John F. Kennedy International Airport, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said in a statement.
Blair and one of the flight attendants were taken to a hospital for evaluation, the Port Authority said.
A police officer taking her to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center said in charging documents that while she was securing Blair to a stretcher, Blair pulled a leg from the straps and kicked her repeatedly around the face, neck and chest, causing serious pain and substantial swelling. Later, a nurse moving Blair said the actor kicked her in the chest, causing substantial pain.
She was arraigned on two counts of second-degree assault late Monday at a court in Queens, where her lawyer entered a not guilty plea on her behalf. She appeared to cry as she stood in court in handcuffs, wearing jeans and a white hooded sweatshirt.
Her attorney Shawn Barnes told a judge her actions were not intentional. He said the actor, who has multiple sclerosis, missed several doses of “a powerful medication that controls severe neurological symptoms,” according to the New York Daily News and New York Post.
He said she had gotten on the flight in Los Angeles after a heavy workload, and hit her head during the flight. He said these factors along with the altitude led to “a state of severe confusion and disorientation.”
The judge set her bail at $20,000 cash or $60,000 bond and set the next hearing for January. She left court with her lawyers.
Details of what happened aboard the aircraft weren’t immediately disclosed by the airline, police or the FBI, which was investigating, but Delta said in a statement it “has zero tolerance for unruly or unlawful behavior, as the safety of our customers and crew always comes first.”
In air traffic communications, the Delta pilot asked the tower to have medical personnel waiting at the gate to treat bite marks and a bloody nose, but said ambulances were not necessary.
“It sounds like the disruptive passenger also bashed her head on the bulkhead or something like that,” the pilot told the tower, according to audio posted on the ATC app. “So we’ll obviously have to get her potentially checked out as well as involved with law enforcement.”
The FBI also issued Blair a notice charging her with assault related to her actions aboard the aircraft, according to a federal law enforcement official who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly about the matter.
Those charges will be handled through the petty violations court in federal court in Brooklyn. No date has been set for Blair’s appearance.
It’s not the first time Blair has had issues aboard a plane. In 2016, Blair apologized for making statements she later regretted during a flight from Cancun to Los Angeles. She said she had mixed alcohol with medication, causing her to black out.
Blair had major roles in films including 1999’s “Cruel Intentions,” 2001’s “Legally Blonde” and 2004’s “Hellboy.”
In recent years, she has advocated for disability rights after getting her multiple sclerosis diagnosis in 2018. In 2023, she joined President Joe Biden at the White House to celebrate the anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
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Yamat reported from Las Vegas and Dalton from Los Angeles. AP Transportation Writer Josh Funk contributed to this report.